Elliot Watt and Alex Gilliead could make quick returns but Bradford City will be more cautious with Charles Vernam

Mark Hughes says he will have no qualms about throwing Elliot Watt and Alex Gilliead into his starting line-up against Newport County on Saturday, but he will tread more carefully with Charles Vernam.

Watt missed Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Port Vale through injury, and fellow midfielder Gilliead has sat out the last two, but both are back in training.

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Bradford City boss Mark Hughes takes the positives despite home defeat to Port V...

Forward Vernam's 20 minutes from the bench was his first appearance since January.

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BACK IN TRAINING: Bradford City's Alex GillieadBACK IN TRAINING: Bradford City's Alex Gilliead
BACK IN TRAINING: Bradford City's Alex Gilliead

"We're likely to get Elliott and Alex Gilliead back but the other injuries we had are still absent," revealed Hughes.

"We had 22 players out there (in training) today (Thursday). We've still got a few longer-term injury concerns.

"They haven't missed a great deal of football and they're back training with the group so we're hopeful there won't be any reaction.

"We'll have no qualms putting them straight back in if we feel that's the right selection.

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"It's maybe a little bit different for the likes of Charles Vernam, who had a longer-term injury. He came on last week and made an instant impact so he's in my thoughts but we're mindful he hasn't had a great deal of football and the 20 minutes or so was probably more than we expected he'd have to play in his first game back so we're still a bit cautious with Charles.

"We've got good support staff here and I'm getting good information about their loads and how much work they should be exposed to. I take that on board but sometimes as a manager you have to ignore all that and go with your gut feeling.

"But I try to avoid that because sometimes that can compromise a player and we're not at that situation, we've got good numbers. If we have to give guys a little bit of extra time to make sure they're sound, that's what we'll do."

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