KESHI Anderson missed Saturday’s League Two visit of Grimsby not because of his lack of game time in recent weeks, but instead due to the extraordinary depth Richie Wellens can currently boast in his Swindon Town squad.

The 24-year-old attacking midfielder was expected to return from his latest injury knock on Saturday for Mariners’ visit to Wiltshire, but he was again left out and consequently hasn’t played a single minute of competitive football in more than eight weeks.

Anderson’s season has been severely hurt by multiple hamstring injuries.

And it would seem he now has to start from square one again after Wellens couldn’t justify dropping any of his matchday 18 on Saturday because of Town’s outstanding form since the turn of the year.

Wellens said: “It’s a hard squad, who should I take out to put Keshi (Anderson) in?

“The lads that have the shirts at the moment have done nothing wrong. We’ll arrange a (friendly) game to hopefully get Keshi minutes, but it’s tough.

“The best thing to do is come in and be the best trainer. We’ll then have a discussion in the room and assess who is training well and consider who to put in the squad.

“But, at the moment, it’s a tough squad.

“Keshi hasn’t played any minutes for three months or so now.

“He’s just got to get his head down and be professional – we all know he is a good player.”

Meanwhile, it would seem Town’s squad will have to prepare to face winds in excess of 40mph for a fifth weekend in a row when visiting Mansfield on Saturday.

MetOffice forecasts suggest 44mph winds are set to batter Field Mill with heavy hail showers also predicted in time for kick-off.

Forecasts will certainly frustrate Wellens, but he is of the opinion that his squad has dealt with the atrocious recent weather well.

He explained: “We’re trying to play in the right areas, we’re not passing out from the back as risky as we sometimes do.

“We’re trying to play in the opposition team’s half a lot more. We know if we get the ball into the final third with the ball on the floor in good possession, it takes the wind out of it.

“The wind only really comes into the equation when you play long balls or long passes on the floor.

“We need to get the front three more involved, but that’s been the secret to our results.”