Town boss Paul Hurst admitted that it was the wrong decision to involve Jon Walters in today’s 0-0 home draw with Bolton, the Ireland international having suffered a calf injury soon after coming on in the second half.

Walters picked up an achilles injury at Hull a week ago and missed Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Brentford as a result.

“We were being radioed that it’s his calf,” Hurt confirmed after being asked about the injury. “He went straight in the medical room so I haven’t got a definite [view] and they might not even know at this stage in terms of how bad or how long he’ll be out.

“He was certainly limping very heavily. Will he go for a scan? I’m not the medical department but that’s seems the usual route and until we’ve seen that we won’t know.

“Clearly it was the wrong decision to involve him and I’m the one to make that decision. But I think Jon would certainly be the first one to say that he trained yesterday and said he felt fine.

“We said we’d look at it again in the morning to see if anything developed overnight and he said he felt fine.

“He’s an experienced pro, I’m sure desperate to be involved, but if he didn’t feel he was right he wouldn’t have put himself up for selection.

“There’s an element with the crowd of him giving them a lift and ultimately giving the team a lift, using someone of that status, plus he’s an obvious goal threat, so that was sad to lose him.

“I still felt like we had the man advantage in the last 15 minutes. I don’t know whether Bolton were happy to carry on as they were, but it didn’t feel as though they changed anything in terms of it being 10 v 10 and the numbers evening up.”

Does he regret having played Walters, who turned 35 earlier in the week? “That depends how long he’s out for and how bad that is. Was it a calculated risk? Genuinely the information we were getting was that he wouldn’t make anything any worse.

“I think it’s his calf rather than his achilles, but at the same time while I’m not a physio I know sport and your bodies and maybe his other muscles were compensating for that more and working harder and therefore that’s what’s happened.

“All we can do is keep our fingers crossed now that it’s not anything too bad that will keep him out for too long.”

Hurst confirmed that Janoi Donacien missed out purely as he was the sixth loanee with only five permitted in the squad.

“Yes, and with hindsight it would have been better to involve him and leave Jon out,” he reflected. “That scenario might be taken out depending on how bad Jon is and he may be able to come into consideration.”

Town have had more than their fair share of ill fortune this season but Hurst says he’s not one to look for excuses or blame luck.

“It didn’t particularly look like we were going to score and we put Jon on to try and do something different,” he added.

“As I said, I wasn’t sure that that was helping them, but what I would say, even if it was a set play, even if you do find that right cross, he’s the one person you want in there.

“At 10 v 10, I’d still give the players credit, they were still the team that looked like they wanted to win it and were pressing forward, albeit a little bit more vulnerable to be broken on.

“But things go against you, there’s no getting away from that. One of the things we spoke about before the game was that there’s a message on the wall about not looking for excuses and I’m a massive believer in that.

“Things happen and if you look at the facts, they’re there in front of you, they happen, you have to try and do all you can to take that away from the scenario and therefore even if you have bad luck along the way, can you overcome it still?

“Today, in one sense, we got a clean sheet. But overall not what we wanted, we couldn’t do enough to get that victory.”

Photo: TWTD

ericclacton added 19:46 - Sep 22 Rubbish talk, the man is clueless.
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Karlosfandangal added 19:49 - Sep 22 You are out of your depth Mr Hurst.
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backwaywhen added 19:49 - Sep 22 Yet another mistake to add to his list ...which is growing week by week !.
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Radlett_blue added 19:52 - Sep 22 Clean sheet, still unbeaten at home & off the bottom. Happy days?
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hoppy added 19:56 - Sep 22 ...and still with our unbeaten home European record intact too don't forget,, Radlett...
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TimmyH added 19:56 - Sep 22 Crikey! Hurst is becoming a serial wrong decision maker. There maybe trouble ahead...
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blueboy1981 added 19:56 - Sep 22 ........ I think everyone expected that to happen - except the Manager ... !! Walters will realistically be out for the rest of his loan now.
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phillev231069 added 19:57 - Sep 22 You seem to be making too many wrong decisions Hurst, you're after match press conference smacked of someone who hasn't got a clue of where to go next or what to do. I'm all for giving a manager time but I think you're done here! This is all too reminiscent of the Jewell era with poor signings an inability to know your best side and poor decision making. We are powder puff up front and lack a cohesive midfield. We basically have this squad until January and even then I doubt much will change and I can honestly see us in a massive relegation fight unless something is done, far to many changes and only average at best players bought in when only a few tweaks were needed if this Carry's on much longer we're screwed!

6

leftie1972 added 19:57 - Sep 22 Yes it's a blow to lose Walters, but he could've made the difference today. We didn't lose and are off the bottom. Another good runout for a team which is still in its infancy and getting to know each other. It will get better! The win will come!
3

tractorgirls added 20:05 - Sep 22 pathetic leftie1972....
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Trac70 added 20:05 - Sep 22 Spot on phillev231069. 100% true.
0

jas0999 added 20:18 - Sep 22 Dreadful decision. I am a Walters fan but HES NOT FIT. Wasn't when we signed him. Makes it even more remarkable. Panic loans in the end and pretty much none of then bar the Everton youngster even remotely what we need.
8

leftie1972 added 20:19 - Sep 22 Please explain @tractorgirls?
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WaltonBlueNaze added 20:23 - Sep 22 Another wrong decision by PH, has there been a game yet where he hasn't made a bad decision? If i made as many as he has then my boss would be asking some serious questions? Come on ME just admit it has not worked out and do something about it !
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The_Snake added 20:32 - Sep 22 Dozzells's not fit but scoring for U23's.
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alfromcol added 20:45 - Sep 22 A player with one good leg comes on as sub and Andre Dozzell is playing regularly for the Under23's. What goes on here???//
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Skip73 added 20:47 - Sep 22 Relegation fight? Really? Thats half right anyway, We're not showing much fight are we?
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ButchersArmy added 20:52 - Sep 22 The biggest mistake and wrong decision was appointing you in the first place! Sod off will ya? You are bringing the club down with you and you dont even give a damn!!
1

Europablue added 21:04 - Sep 22 We're not in dire straights yet, we keep picking up those draws, finally a clean sheet and only two points off our target position. Let's just support the manager and the team for the next five or so games and see where we end up after that. It's depressing how quickly our supporters turn on the manager. We are never going to suddenly be the best team in the league. We need to build patiently. I'd say stick with Hurst at least until Christmas. Teams tend to go on runs in this league, we are due some luck too.

14

Michael101 added 21:11 - Sep 22 Dear oh dear seams he is nearly as useless as that idiot mad mick
2

KiwiTractor added 21:12 - Sep 22 A couple of posters beat me to it. Dozzell not fit enough for the first team and then you put Walters on....... mmmmmm
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Erics_size_5s added 21:17 - Sep 22 We have to keep supporting the players. Players need confidence, and that could be the difference between success and failure
11

phillev231069 added 21:58 - Sep 22 Europablue while I respect your opinion on our current run and form leaving this mess until Christmas could be a disaster! Nobody expected us to become the best team overnight but I'm pretty sure nobody expected us to turn into one of the worst in the Championship and I'm afraid on current form that's where we are. Would you survive in a new job if you replicated Hursts record over the last few weeks? As I already stated too many changes made to quickly to a squad that needed tweaking but not to the extent that Hurst has done. He has no idea of his best side or formation yet and that's a major worry in itself.

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Felstow1978 added 22:03 - Sep 22 Tractor "girl" (really??) - the only think that's pathetic on this site is people like you and the rest of the Closet Canaries who only turn up to moan at the slightest opportunity.
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Felstow1978 added 22:09 - Sep 22 And mickeyjb, skips73 and poldark - why downvote lefties when he asks another poster to explain a moronic, disrespectful comment?
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