Cumbrians get triple fitness boost

Carlisle have been given a triple fitness boost for their trip to Sky Bet League Two leaders MK Dons.

Captain Danny Grainger, fellow defender Tom Parkes and playmaker Jamie Devitt have returned to training this week after spells on the sidelines, and boss John Sheridan has confirmed they will be in his 18-man squad heading for Milton Keynes.

Devitt had scored five in five games before picking up a knock in their 1-1 draw at Notts County.

Jason Kennedy, who has been out for more than a year, has also returned to full training.

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Thiago back for Bayern

Thiago Alcantara is poised to make his first start for six weeks against Nuremberg as Bayern Munich’s injury problems continue to improve.

Thiago came off the bench for the last few minutes of last week’s 2-1 win at Werder Bremen and has now given boss Niko Kovac a welcome selection headache.

Bayern, who are nine points adrift of Bundesliga pacesetters Borussia Dortmund, are getting key men fit again.

Kingsley Coman made a long-awaited return against Bremen to give Kovac food for thought about his wide players, while playmaker James Rodriguez is back in training following a knee injury. He is expected to return next week.

That leaves Corentin Tolisso as the only first-team star who won’t be back until next year.

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Leeds worries are piling up

Leeds went back to the top of the Sky Bet Championship last weekend – for a few hours at least – but it was a success which came at a cost.

Liam Cooper (knee) and Stuart Dallas (ankle) both limped out of the 1-0 win at Sheffield United and are out for up to six weeks.

They are added to a growing injury list at Elland Road where QPR are the visitors this weekend.

Defenders Luke Ayling and Gaetano Berardi are out until the new year while Patrick Bamford and Izzy Brown are still a couple of weeks away from first-team returns.

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Shrimpers sweating on striker

Southend boss Chris Powell is hopeful he will have top scorer Simon Cox available at Portsmouth after he picked up a knee injury against Barnsley in the FA Cup.

Cox couldn’t line up in Southend’s EFL Trophy tie against Luton on Wednesday, which the Blues won in a shootout.

And it’s easy to see why Powell will give eight-goal Cox every opportunity to be fit for the trip to Fratton Park.

Cox and Tom Hopper, who was ruled out for the season in October with ruptured knee ligaments, have between them scored over half (13 out of 25) of Southend’s Sky Bet League One goals.

Powell already has tweaks to make in defence with Jason Demetriou picking up a knee injury. Stalwart Ben Coker and youngster Harry Kyprianou are also sidelined.

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Gaffer Tracker

Ralph HasenhuttlSouthampton

“No matter where I’ve worked, the stadiums have always been full as a result of how we played.”

The words of Southampton’s new gaffer Ralph Hasenhuttl will be music to the ears of Saints diehards, numbed by two-and-a-bit soul-destroyingly dreary years of Claude Puel, Mauricio Pellegrino and Mark Hughes.

Jurgen Klopp is a fan of Hasenhuttl, whose style is hardly a secret or complex – he likes to get the ball forward quickly and attack.

It looks a really good fit for Southampton, but there should be a note of caution. At Leipzig he inherited a seriously good squad from Ralf Rangnick and was able to finish the job, turning them into a Champions League side. At St Mary’s he’ll inherit something far more ordinary.

His first task is to make the tweaks in January that will keep the side up and then he can be judged next season after his first summer transfer window.

Wally Downes AFC Wimbledon

If former Crazy Ganger Wally Downes wanted to make an impact on his return to the club then he’s certainly succeeded.

Downes’ appointment has been accompanied by the resurrection of a number of homophobic tweets he made in the past, hence his first few days in office have been spent grovelling.

He needs to get to work sharpish, however, with the Dons in dire trouble in Sky Bet League One.

It doesn’t look as though he was first choice – Kevin Nolan turned them down – and Downes’ arrival after a spell coaching in India can be filed under U for underwhelming.