Doncaster Rovers dealt another injury blow as boss weighs up whether to risk returning players

Adam Long missed Doncaster Rovers' win over Colchester United due to injury.

Defender Long was one of 10 players unavailable to head coach Danny Schofield for the clash as injuries continue to bite.

Rovers won the game 1-0 to end a run of nine matches without a win and earn just their ninth clean sheet of the season.

Schofield, who made five changes to his starting XI against the U's, said: "Adam Long had a slight calf injury so we decided not to risk him."

On the decision to shake up his starting line-up, Schofield said: "It was just about freshening things up.

"When you go on a run of form like we have been on you look to change personnel.

"It was nothing to do with individual performances, it was just selecting players that we felt could perform against this opponent the best."

Long, a summer signing from Wigan Athletic, had played Doncaster’s previous five games owing in part to a shortage of first-choice options at centre-back.

The 22-year-old has been a fringe player during his first season at the Eco-Power Stadium, making 24 appearances in total.

It is not yet known whether Long will be available for Rovers’ final match of the campaign against Walsall on Monday.

On the possibility of injured players returning for the dead rubber fixture, Schofield said: “Probably not.

"James Maxwell is probably champing at the bit to play but I’m not sure it’s worth risking that injury with a high chance of recurrence.

"It’s the same with Joseph Olowu, we probably could push him to play but is it worth the risk? I have got to weigh up the odds.”

Maxwell has been out since February after injuring his quadricep muscle during a training session while Olowu is recovering from a Grade 2 hamstring tear.

Owing to their poor goal difference, Doncaster could finish as high as 13th with a win at the Bescot Stadium, or as low as 18th should they lose.

Either way the club is set for its lowest league finish in 20 years this term.

Schofield has been promised a budget to facilitate a promotion push next season.