Northampton Town manager Aidy Boothroyd has expressed his hope that skipper Kelvin Langmead will play again this season.
The defender was expected to return to action this month following knee surgery in July, but the date has been pushed back.
Boothroyd also hopes that striker Alex Nicholls, who has been out of action since October 2012 with a broken leg, will return before the end of the campaign.
"I'm hoping we'll see both before the end of the season. It would give everyone a lift," Boothroyd told BBC Radio Northampton.
"I've got a very strong relationship with them and we're going to do all we can to get them back to fitness as fast as possible.
"They've got the injuries on behalf of the crusade we're on and it does become upsetting, both from a purely selfish point of view and when you empathise with them and their plights."
Northampton currently sit bottom of League Two.
Steven Toplis
