Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton has confirmed the club will be without striker Josh Coburn this weekend.

The Gas face League Two side Rochdale at the Memorial Stadium in the FA Cup first round on Saturday afternoon. Rovers will be looking to continue their excellent run of form from the league into the cup at the weekend, with just one defeat from their last seven games moving them up to 16th in the League One table.

But Barton will be unable to call upon Middlesbrough loanee Coburn after his parent club denied him permission to feature, with the Championship side wanting to ensure he is eligible to play for them in the later rounds should Boro boss Michael Carrick decide to recall him in January.

It is a blow for Rovers as the 19-year-old has been in excellent form lately, including scoring three goals and getting one assist in his last six games.

Barton's side have been hit by a number of injuries in recent weeks, including to fellow strikers Ryan Loft and John Marquis, as well as club captain Paul Coutts. He will, however, be able to call upon loan defenders Lewis Gibson and Bobby Thomas, with parent clubs Everton and Burnley respectively giving the pair permission to play.

"We’ve got Josh Coburn cup-tied," Barton told the Bristol Post. "Middlesbrough have decided to hold on to Josh. It’s not an injury, but we’ll be one option lighter, but he should be even fitter for the league game the following Saturday.

"We were the same when I was at Fleetwood. If we loaned players out, we wouldn’t let them play in FA Cup just in case we need them.

"Some lads, you know you’re not going to use, but Michael Carrick has gone in as manager and there is no benefit for them (in Coburn playing for Rovers in the FA Cup).

"Everton and Burnley for Lewis Gibson and Bobby Thomas have said the lads could do with the experience of playing and Middlesbrough don’t want Josh cup-tied because if they recall him in January and Middlesbrough are in the third or fourth round, they could obviously utilise him.

"Disappointing as Josh wants to play football and he’s been really good this week, but I also totally understand it."

Although Barton will be without the services of Coburn, he suggested that he could hand a first start to Scott Sinclair. The 33-year-old has made three substitute appearances since returning to his boyhood club last month as he continues to build up his fitness and the game against Dale will be used as an opportunity to give him more minutes.

"We’ve had to manage him in because he came in behind the eight-ball in terms of he was training with Chelsea’s under-23s," Barton said. "In the earlier part of the season, you could use the cup competition to get him those minutes, but his little cameos have tuned him up.

"His cameo on Saturday showed, whether we had a league game this Saturday or a cup game, he is ready to play from the off. On Saturday, he’s definitely in consideration to start the game."

The verdict

While Coburn's unavailability on Saturday is a blow for Barton's side, perhaps the long-term implications of Middlesbrough's decision to deny him permission to play are more concerning.

The fact that Boro do not want him to be ineligible for them in the later stages of the competition suggests that Boro are almost certain to recall him in January and Barton's comments seem resigned to the fact that Michael Carrick will want him back to take a closer look at him.

Given Coburn's excellent recent form, he would be a huge loss to the Gas for the second half of the season, particularly given their injuries in the attacking areas of the pitch.

But should Coburn be recalled, it will be a positive for Barton to be able to call on Sinclair. Although there are question marks over his fitness and whether he still has the legs at his age, there is no doubt that even if he can show glimpses of the quality he displayed for the likes of Swansea and Celtic earlier in his career, he could be a huge asset for Rovers at this level.

The Rochdale cup tie provides the ideal opportunity for Barton to continue to build up his fitness, as well as to assess his options for what seems likely to be a future without Coburn.

But the striker will be remaining in the South West until at least January and he can have big impact on Rovers' season between now and then.