Fleetwood boss Joey Barton hoping striker is fit for Portsmouth trip

The striker missed the Cod Army's 2-1 victory over Shrewsbury on Saturday.

Evans was rested for the clash as Joey Barton didn't want to aggravate the Sheffield United loanee's shoulder injury he picked up in last month's defeat to Barnsley.

The Wales international has been superb form for Fleetwood this season, scoring six goals in 10 appearances.

And Barton is optimistic Evans will be available for the League One clash at Fratton Park. 

The head coach told the Blackpool Gazette: '˜It's just a hangover from the shoulder injury he picked up against Barnsley.

'˜He then played through the pain barrier for us at Doncaster. You could see he was really struggling but he gave everything because he is that kind of lad.

'˜He still had a bit of pain in there and had a scan in the early part of last week. There were a couple of little issues in there.

'˜We were faced with the prospect of resting him, making sure we look after him and doing a rehabilitation week to have him fit potentially for Portsmouth, Peterborough and Blackpool.

'˜If we'd risked him (against Shrewsbury) he could have made it worse, landed on it funny and required surgery.

'˜None of us want that, so we have to be a little bit smart in terms of managing his load to get him fit for 30 games as opposed to the next game.'

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