Kyle Naughton doubtful for Blackburn, but Jamie Paterson may be involved

Kyle Naughton is doubtful for Swansea City’s Championship clash with Blackburn on Saturday evening, but Jamie Paterson could be in contention for a return to the matchday squad.

Defender Naughton was forced off early on in Tuesday’s defeat to Luton with a thigh injury, and has undergone a scan to assess the severity of the problem.

While head coach Russell Martin is hopeful the issue will not rule the experienced centre-back out for long, he acknowledged he is unlikely to feature against Rovers at the Swansea.com Stadium.

“Kyle is still being assessed, we are waiting on scan results,” said the Swans boss.

“I was hopeful after the game that it was a minor thing but he still had a bit of pain the following day so it is something we needed to have a look at.

“We will hopefully know more in the next few hours but it is looking unlikely that he will be involved at the weekend.”

Midfielder Paterson, meanwhile, returned to training with the first-team squad on Wednesday. His fitness levels will be assessed ahead of the weekend, but Martin says the midfielder is in the mix for a first involvement since the game against Nottingham Forest on December 11.

“It was great to have Pato back, we’ve missed him,” added Martin.

“He will need time to get back to where he was physically and mentally and doing what he does best.

“He is enjoying being here, the distractions have made it difficult but we hope he is over that and he is looking forward to putting that white shirt back on.

“It is a big ask for him to be involved at the weekend, but we will assess where he is at physically and go from there.

“He looked fine in training and it’s just good to have him back.”

Finley Burns has trained with his new team-mates following his loan arrival from Manchester City, while Nathanael Ogbeta is set to get down to work with his squad on the grass soon as he settles in after his deadline-day move from Shrewsbury.

“Nathanael has not had a chance to train yet as he came in so late and he had various tests and screening to go through,” continued Martin.

“Hopefully he will train on Friday, he has played a lot of games this season and came off in his last game, so we need to see where he is at physically and make sure he is right and able to train properly at the intensity we require.

“It’s just part of the timings at all.”