Bristol Rovers manager Inigo Calderon has revealed the surprising reason behind winger Shaq Forde’s omission from the club’s most recent league match against Exeter City.
The 20-year-old had become somewhat of a regular feature for the League One side in recent weeks, but was left out of the team that lost last weekend and slipped back into the relegation zone just as the season approaches the final straight.
Forde’s omission from the squad led to vast amounts of speculation from Bristol Rovers supporters but those have now been addressed by Calderon during an interview with Bristol Live.
Injury or a tactical decision?
Despite Forde starting three matches on the spin for the League One side, the 20-year-old was left out of the defeat against Exeter City and those reasons have now been confirmed to be tactical related rather than an impending injury or fall out.
Speaking to Bristol Live, Calderon stated..
“He was fit to play. It was a technical, tactical decision – whatever you want to call it. But he’s been training good this week.”
Knowing Forde was fit to play does make the decision not to play him even more surprising when you consider the defeat has put the club back in the relegation zone.
However, news that he isn’t injured will come as a boost for the League One side ahead of their busy easter schedule, especially knowing they need points even more so than before.
How has Forde fared this season?
The 20-year-old completed a permanent move to Bristol Rovers in August, leaving Championship side Watford in search of regular first team exposure.
He’s featured 32 times across all competitions for Bristol Rovers since his arrival at the club, contributing to five goals with all of them arriving in League One alone.
Despite the side evidently struggling in the final third over the course of the entire season, Forde is one of the sides biggest goal contributors and his strengths need to be utilised in the final run-in.
Do Bristol Rovers have what it takes to stay up?
The 2024/25 campaign has been a challenging time for Bristol Rovers and are currently just four games away from being relegated back to League Two.
Bristol Rovers will make the difficult trip to automatic promotion hopefuls Wrexham before hosting Stevenage and Reading, leading up to their final day clash at Blackpool.
The pressure is certainly on Calderon’s men, especially considering three of their final four games are against sides in the top ten of the division.
Burton Albion are the side currently occupying the final survival spot and they still have a fixture against Cambridge United to come who could be relegated by the time the match comes around, which doesn’t do the side any favours.
Bristol Rovers fans, do you think Forde could make a crucial difference to your survival hopes this season?