Joe Sbarra's lack of Doncaster Rovers action addressed by Grant McCann as he concedes 'we can't play them all'

The midfielder sealed a return to the EFL in the summer, joining Doncaster on a two-year deal after four seasons in the National League with Solihull Moors.

He is still waiting on his first league start for Doncaster and did not make the bench for last week’s defeat away at Harrogate Town.

McCann has assured supporters Sbarra is training well, but that he is far from alone in doing so.

"He's training well,” McCann told reporters ahead of the upcoming trip to Milton Keynes Dons. “I've got 20 players on the training ground this morning, every single one of them training very well.

"It's easy for fans to sit behind a desk or whatever, watch us, and go 'he should have played him and he should have played him'. Everything's great when you're doing that.

"We see the lads every single day, we know who's ready in that moment. Different games will need different things.”

This season, McCann has been afforded the luxury of choice. Doncaster were ravaged by injuries in the early stages of the 2023/24 campaign, preventing the club from climbing the table.

When fitness worries eased after Christmas, McCann’s men embarked on a stunning run into the play-offs that.

“For us, we feel we've got a real competitive squad who all are chomping at the bit to play,” McCann said. “We can't play them all. It's what we brought into the building.

"If we think back to last season, I'm trying to put an XI together. The bench was very young at times last season. We've got decisions every week on the team and we've got decisions every week on the bench. Sometimes, we're going to need something different.”