Colchester United are hoping that they are over the worst of the sickness bug that has ravaged the squad.

The U’s training ground complex at Florence Park was temporarily closed earlier this week, with a number of players and staff laid low by the virus.

The likes of Kane Vincent-Young and Ethan Ross missed Colchester’s Carbao Cup penalty shoot-out defeat at Cheltenham Town in midweek as a result of the illness, while some of the players who played in the first-round tie were also suffering.

However, a near-full U’s squad trained on Thursday in preparation for the U’s game at Mansfield Town today and head coach John McGreal is hopeful that any fitness doubts will be resolved, ahead of the trip to Field Mill.

McGreal said: “Everyone is more or less fit – there are obviously boys coming back from it and still not 100 per cent.

“But as we get nearer to the game, we’ll be hoping they’ll recover.

“It was more the early part of the week but we had the day off on Wednesday which gave us a day to recover and a lot of the boys have got through the session today, whether it’s by hook or by crook!

“We’ll all looking forward to the game on Saturday.

“There are still one or two minor little niggles that we have around the camp that they’re trying to iron out.

“The big thing that we have to think of as well is the three games we have in succession.

“We got back late on Tuesday night and we travel again on Friday, no sooner that happens then we have a game on Tuesday and then another on the Saturday.

“It’s been a tough little run with the travelling but that’s why we’re here – we want to play football and win games.”

McGreal was pleased with the character his Colchester side showed at Cheltenham in the Carabao Cup, despite their eventual defeat on penalties.

The U’s lost 6-5 on spot-kicks at Whaddon Road, having score twice in less than two minutes to recover a two-goal deficit and take the game to a shoot-out.

McGreal said: “We didn’t play well for 30 minutes but after that, we took the game to them.

“They scored their penalty when we were on top but we were still in contention and got the two goals back.

“In years gone by, we might not have been able to do that but I think there’s a bit more resilience amongst the squad and that gave us a bit of a foothold.

“We went out on pens but the way we came back was a good sign.

“It’s about getting into good habits and setting high standards, which I think we have done so far.

“We hope we have a bit more about us, this season.”