Leyton Orient remain without Aaron Drinan for Hartlepool’s visit

Posted Thursday, August 25, 2022 by PA

Sky Bet League Two leaders Leyton Orient remain without last season’s top goalscorer Aaron Drinan for Saturday’s visit of Hartlepool.

Drinan has yet to feature for the O’s this term but has stepped up his recovery from a quad injury with a view to making his comeback in next week’s Papa John’s Trophy match with Oxford.

Boss Richie Wellens is expected to have captain Darren Pratley available despite the veteran being forced off at Colchester with cramp while Craig Clay could return to the fold after a dead leg.

Anthony Georgiou and Harry Smith netted in a midweek friendly win over Charlton’s under-23s in a timely reminder of their qualities having failed to be part of the 18-man group last weekend.

Hartlepool are still searching for their maiden victory under new boss Paul Hartley after they went down 3-1 at home to Bradford on Saturday.

A positive for Pools was the return of forward Joe Grey off the bench after a disrupted pre-season with a calf issue.

Grey will hope for more minutes in the capital and the visitors could also be boosted by the return of two other players.

Euan Murray sat out the loss to Bradford with a dead leg while Mikael Ndjoli, who sustained a hamstring injury last month, returned to training this week.