Will Kieran Agard be fit enough to face Wigan Athletic for Doncaster Rovers?

Agard has shaken off a recent ankle injury and is confident he has put behind him the fitness issues that have hampered his career in recent years.

McSheffrey says the 32-year-old is available to feature against Wigan Athletic on Saturday but he will only push Agard so far as he looks to ensure he is available long-term.

“Fitness wise he is good to go,” McSheffrey told the Free Press.

“We’ll see how he is, how long he lasts and we’ll be a bit cautious with it.

“We’ll try and make sure he’s available for Tuesday’s game as well because we don’t want to just bring him in, give him a blast on Saturday and risk anything. We’ve got to be quite careful with it.

“They will all be sharing the load a bit because it’s going to be a quite intense period and they’re going to have to be ready for it.”

McSheffrey felt Rovers needed to act once Agard became available and he is confident he will have a big part to play for the rest of the campaign.

The striker reached the end of a short term deal with Plymouth Argyle shortly before committing his future to Rovers with an 18-month deal.

Having scored more than 100 career goals, the striker has the potential to ignite Rovers’ survival hopes.

“Sometimes you have to act sharp,” he said. “When someone becomes available, although people might say in the present he’s not scored like he did in the past, he has experience and nous about him and he’s a clever player.

“He can finish. He scored goals on a regular basis at the level.

“If we had let him go to another club around us in League One, he’s scoring goals to help keep them up.

“We felt we had to strike.

“Everyone has injuries and you’ve got surgeons now that fix things, get you back on the pitch and then work with the strength and conditioning.

“We’ll get him on a good programme and make sure he’s as fit as he can be.”

*

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Liam Hoden, editor.