Crewe boss David Artell has to juggle injuries for Newport visit

Injuries continue to bite at Crewe as they prepare for the visit of Newport.

Crewe boss David Artell named an unchanged starting line up and bench against Bolton in the EFL Cup in midweek, reflecting his current lack of options.

Crewe continue to be cautious with Zoumana Bakayogo's knee problem, while Jordan Bowery got another handful of minutes under his belt on Wednesday as he works his way back from a hernia.

George Ray (back) and James Jones (hernia) remain out, and it could be next month until they are fit enough for first-team consideration.

Newport defender Scot Bennett is rated as 50-50 after being forced off with an ankle injury at Southend in midweek.

But new loan signing Reece Cole, a 19-year-old midfielder, is likely to make his debut after joining from Brentford on Thursday.

County will otherwise make do with the squad which has started brightly with a league draw at Stevenage and a Carabao Cup win at Southend.

Midfielder Ben Tozer is still out after summer knee surgery and striker Marlon Jackson has not yet recovered from a hamstring injury picked up in pre-season.