Lincoln City’s rise to League One has been an exciting spectacle to behold, both from inside the club and outside.

Languishing in the National League in the summer of 2016, they looked further away from a good level of football as they’d ever been. Three years later, three trophies later, they’ll be visiting Sunderland and Ipswich as equals.

Danny Cowley and his brother Nicky have been behind the rise, they’re a pair of clever tacticians who come up with a different game plan each season. They’ve manifested from a very direct side to one able to attract slick players such as Jorge Grant and Jack Payne to the club.

There is a strength to their play though, a certain steel delivered by the likes of Jason Shackell and Michael Bostwick. The latter is entering his third season with the club and got 60 minutes of their friendly against Nottingham Forest last night.

However, his fitness has a big question mark over it ahead of the fixture with Accrington. How much of a blow could it be for the Imps? We shine a spotlight on his stats last year to find out.

First of all, it must be noted that Jason Shackell is suspended for the first two league matches, exasperating the situation somewhat. Bostwick played at the heart of the Imps’ defence alongside the former Derby man last season and although Cian Bolger is an able-bodied replacement, Bostwick’s absence would be a huge blow to Danny Cowley.

Even if the squad depth allowed for such an injury, Bostwick is the sort of rock upon which a solid team is built. He played 49 matches for the Imps last season as they made the FA Cup third round, a game in which he scored as they went down 2-1 to Everton.

He was also named Player of the Year as the Imps lifted the title, underlining how important he is to the club before a stat has even been presented.

At the heart of the defence he had a simple enough task; head it away, kick it away or tackle whoever has the ball. With a ‘thou shall not pass’ attitude, Bostwick performed his duties diligently, making 5.28 defensive duels per game, every one of them likely to be a bone-cruncher. He won 65.7% of those tackles too, a good return for his efforts.

When the ball came at him in the air, he was always a willing challenger. On average, he entered 6.64 defensive duels per game in a league where long ball is often the go-to tactics of most clubs. He won 65.9% of those duels as well, another good number against some very tough centre forwards.

He also made 5.79 interceptions per game, breaking up play and stopping attacks. With the ability to play in central midfield as well, he is skilled at reading the game and thwarting opposition attacks.

Michael Bostwick is all action, involved in 17 defensive actions per match. He’ll be a huge miss if he fails to make it to fitness in time for the visit of Accrington Stanley this Saturday, although the fighting spirit he normally displays suggests he’ll at least start the game, if not finish it.