Chesterfield squad selection decision explained after midfielder's surprise inclusion

The midfielder was not initially named in the 22-man list which was submitted to the EFL after the January transfer window and a loan move to National League Barnet fell through last month.

But the 22-year-old has now been registered and he started in the 1-0 defeat to Colchester United on Tuesday night, with a lot of fans understandably believing that Hobson had taken up the last spot in the squad, which was expected to go to either Chey Dunkley or Kyle McFadzean on their return from injury.

But assistant manager Danny Webb confirmed to the DT that Tyrone Williams will be withdrawn from the list following his serious injury against Swindon Town. The defender has had surgery and is thankfully making ‘amazing progress’ but he is going to be out for the season. Although the EFL do not allow clubs to chop and change their list lightly, they will allow swaps to be made for ‘exceptional circumstances’ just like the situation with Mike Jones earlier in the season.

"The gaffer felt tonight that he would give us legs and energy but the pitch cut up and he didn’t really get a chance to run in behind but that was not just Bailey, that was a lot of the lads,” Webb said of Hobson’s inclusion.

In other news, Janoi Donacien’s knee injury is ‘not as bad as first thought’, Webb said, but he was not available against Colchester. And midfielder Darren Oldaker was left out of the squad completely, with Webb adding: “The gaffer chose to go with a different bench and a different midfield. It is always hindsight, sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t, but whatever happens at the minute, sadly, nothing seems to be working.”