Colchester United interim head coach Wayne Brown on injuries

The U's visit the high-flying Cobblers looking for vital points to boost their League Two survival mission.

Colchester were without without several players due to injury and illness for their 2-2 draw with Carlisle United, last weekend.

But they could be boosted by the return of squad members, ahead of the game.

John Akinde has returned to training this week, following his bout of Covid-19.

The experienced striker (pictured below) has missed the U's last three matches in League Two, after contracting the virus.

Brown said: "Big John really struggled with Covid.

"Last Saturday came too soon for him whereas this Saturday might be a bit different."

Noah Chilvers could also be in the running to return to the Colchester squad.

The young midfielder (pictured below) has sat out the U's last five matches, due to a quad injury but is nearing a comeback.

"Noah has shown good progress," said Brown.

Colchester will assess defender Tom Dallison's fitness tomorrow, after a scan revealed his groin injury is not as bad as first feared.

The 26-year-old has been out since being withdrawn in the U's pre-match warm-up at Leyton Orient, on February 5.

Brown said: "Tom's making good progress.

"We'll have to see how he is for training tomorrow and the game, on Saturday.

"We've got a lot of games coming up so it's a matter of treading carefully with a few.

"Thankfully, Tom's injury isn't as bad as first feared.

"It'll just depend on his reactions in training sessions which will determine his availability."

Colchester have had a full week to prepare for the Northampton trip, with no midweek game.

U's interim boss Brown says they need to manage each individual's fitness in the right way.

He added: "We always try to assess injuries, day by day.

"Weather conditions will dictate where we can train and what surface we can train on.

"There's different personnel that can and can't train on different surfaces.

"We have to manage individuals the best way that we can but it's given an opportunity for a few of the lads to get a week's training under their belt."