Peterborough United fitness update as six players miss Exeter City trip

Joe Ward and Kwame Poku were thought to be in with a chance of a return but did not recover in time and Frankie Kent was suspended after picking up five yellow cards in the league.

The most notable absentees though were defenders Josh Knight and Nathan Thompson.

Knight was struck down by illness, along with Joel Randall who was denied a return to his former side.

Thompson meanwhile was absent with a family issue and boss Grant McCann sent on his best wishes to the 32-year-old after the match.

All the absentees opened the door for the long-awaited returns of Emmanuel Fernandez and Benji Mensah to the squad.

Centre-back Fernandez had not been involved for Posh, due to a knee issue, since April 2 against Middlesbrough- his only senior appearance for the club.

Mensah, however, has not been seen club colours since the 3-0 win over West Ham Under 21s in the EFL Trophy in December 2020. The young full-back has been dogged by a series of injuries, that have held him back, most recently with his hamstring.

Summer signing David Ajiboye also made the squad in a league match for the first time since Lincoln on August 20.

McCann was keen not to blame the late collapse on these problems but when asked about potential return dates, said: “Nathan Thompson has had a bit of an issue back home, so we pass our wishes on to him. Josh Knight is ill, Joe Ward is not fit and Kwame is still not right.

“Benji has only trained for about the last four days so he was not right to start the game but we brought him with us in case we needed him for ten of 15 minutes.

“That’s football, you get injuries, you get knocks but I’m more disappointed today.

“It’s possible Joel Randall will be back to face Salford. Joel is feeling a bit better today, he hasn’t trained for three days but Josh Knight is not feeling too good. Kwame and Joe, I wouldn’t have thought so and with Nathan I’m not sure.”