Southend United vs Stevenage Borough preview - Atkinson may miss out

Posted Friday, August 15, 2014 by PA

Southend look set to be without Will Atkinson for the visit of Stevenage after the midfielder suffered an eye injury during Tuesday's Capital One Cup loss to Walsall.

David Worrall also suffered a knock in that fixture but is expected to be okay, while manager Phil Brown reports the rest of his squad as looking "fit and sharp".

Teenage midfielder Jack Payne could be pushing for a league start after impressing in the clash with the Saddlers.

"Jack was a constant thorn in their side," said Brown on the club's official website. "I was going to bring him off with about 60 minutes gone but I kept him on. He almost proved to be the match winner."

Stevenage have Simon Walton available to make his debut after he was suspended for the start of the season, missing a League Two win over his former club Hartlepool and a Capital One Cup loss to Watford.

However, fellow summer signings Calvin Zola and Ronnie Henry may still need more time to recover from injury after joining from Aberdeen and Luton respectively.

New goalkeeper Sam Beasant has conceded just one goal in two games and said: "I don't mind having to make a few saves, as long we keep them out. After 20 minutes against Watford in the Capital One Cup I thought I was in for a busy night, but we did well to only lose 1-0 against a good Championship side."

Meanwhile, Rohdell Gordon has joined Conference South side Chelmsford on loan until January in a bid to gain some first-team experience after making three appearances for Boro in the spring, including one start.