Outlook brighter for Bradford City's Alex Jones ahead of Fleetwood showdown

The Bantams host Fleetwood Town on Thursday night in the first leg before travelling to the coast on Sunday for the decisive return tie.

McCall made wholesale changes for Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Rochdale, with only Jones and Rory McArdle of the likely starting XI against Uwe Rosler’s side featuring at Spotland.

Jones was due to play an hour but suffered a hamstring injury that left Bradford fearing the worst.

However, 48 hours on, McCall is feeling much more confident about the £30,000 January signing from Birmingham City.

“Alex Jones had a far greater chance than we thought he had on Sunday,” said the former Scotland international at Tuesday’s press briefing.

“He is pain free today. We will look at him really closely tomorrow because we won’t want to put him at risk for Sunday, which he now looks to have a really good chance of making.

“The improvement in 48 hours is huge. I have watched the incident again and it wasn’t a lot, he stretched with his right leg and the left hamstring hurt.

“He is going for a scan this afternoon just to get it in black and white. I don’t think he would have a problem playing, though we have to be careful. If it was a knock or a dead leg, you can play through it.

“Muscle injuries are different. We don’t want to start him and then he goes after 15 minutes. That then scuppers him for Sunday. In my own head, I had ruled him out after Sunday’s game but it is now promising.”