Lincoln City manager Michael Appleton has revealed that Michael Bostwick is set to miss the club's clash with Peterborough United on Saturday.

The Imps, who are currently 11th in League One, will be aiming to back up last weekend's impressive performance at Sincil Bank with another promising display against Posh.

Despite heading into their fixture with Sunderland as underdogs, Lincoln took the lead in the 17th minute as Tyler Walker fired home.

The forward then doubled the Imps' advantage in the second-half following neat work from Bruno Andrade.

With Sunderland unable to produce a response, Lincoln secured their first victory under the guidance of Appleton.

Bostwick, who has been forced to watch on from the sidelines since picking up an injury against Bristol Rovers last month, would have been wanting to make his return to action against he former side Peterborough this weekend.

However, Appleton has revealed that the 31-year-old has suffered a fresh setback in training.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference [as cited by LincolnshireLive], the 43-year-old said: "He's struggling a little bit.

"He had a bit of an issue yesterday when we tried to up his progress on the grass.

"That's going to be re-evaluated over the next couple of days.

"It's clearly frustrating for Bozzy [Bostwick] because he's the type of player who wants to be out there training and playing.

"It'll need a bit of managing over the next week or two."

Appleton also confirmed that Ben Coker will is expected to be sidelined for a prolonged period due to a serious knee injury.

The Imps boss added: "It'll [his return] be nearer to the end of the year for him.

"He's a long-term one."

The Verdict

When you consider that Bostwick featured in all eight of Lincoln's League One clashes before his injury, this latest setback is unquestionably bad news for the club.

Having been utilised as a central defender over the past two seasons by the Imps, his current absence may force Appleton to look towards the likes of Jason Shackell and Cian Bolger for inspiration against Peterborough.

If Lincoln manage to defeat Posh on Saturday, they could close the gap between them and the play-off places in the third-tier.

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