SENIOR Bury players Adam El-Abd and Danny Nardiello are expected to be fit and available for selection for Saturday's trip to struggling Cheltenham Town.

El-Abd had to be substituted during last weekend's draw at home to Exeter after pulling up sharply with a hamstring problem and missed Tuesday night's game in Stevenage.

And Nardiello was rested in midweek, coming on for the final 30 minutes.

But manager David Flitcroft said: "El-Abd has caught it at the right moment. It wasn’t a tear. He has had extensive training this week and it is probably a seven to 10-day injury.

"Usually a hamstring is six weeks so he caught it right just before he got the tear – great news really because that would have been a big miss."

Flitcroft allayed fears that Nardiello had suffered a recurrence of a groin strain that has hampered his progress this season, saying he was taken out of the firing line as a precaution.

"We looked at the game time he (Nards) has done and we don’t believe he could have done another 90 minutes," added the Bury boss.

"All the medical advice was telling us that.

"I wouldn’t have put him at risk of another six-week injury.

"He’s been in and out of the team with injuries but has had a very good run.

"It’s just about knowing how to manage Nards.

"He’s got 12 goals in 15 starts so it was really important that we don’t turn that into a fatigue injury and that was the risk with the intel we had on the pitch."

Meanwhile, the Bury manager has revealed that veteran striker Ryan Lowe was making good progress on his recovery from a hamstring strain.

Lowe, aged 36, has been missing from action since hobbling off during a 1-1 draw against then League Two leaders Wycombe Wanderers on January 17.

But the Liverpool born frontman tweeted earlier this week that he was back doing yoga as he stepped up his rehab sessions.

And Flitcroft said he was looking for a comeback by early next month.

"He's doing well and is potentially two weeks away, but more likely to be three weeks once he has finished his intensive fitness work," he said.

"The injury site is looking stronger and his tan looks all right as well!"

Despite the manager's optimism over the speed of Lowe's return, he acknowledged he was still looking to boost his attacking options.

Flitcroft said he had identified eight or nine potential loan strikers before the January transfer window closed, and with the loan window now reopened he was continuing to scour the market.

"We're always looking to progress and always looking for players who can make us better, so we will continue to keep searching," he added.

It is unlikely he will act before travelling to Cheltenham, who beat Bury in the corresponding fixture on the opening day of the season but have dropped to third bottom in League Two having won just once since the turn of the year.