Boss John Askey has revealed that Dominic Johnson-Fisher ‘will be available’ for Truro City’s Isuzu FA Trophy round three match at Southend United on Saturday. 

Johnson-Fisher left the Truro City Stadium pitch on a stretcher and in much discomfort just shy of half-time in the recent National League clash against Sutton United. 

It was feared that the former Whitehawk flyer had suffered a serious knee injury and after admittance to the Royal Cornwall Hospital for further medical examination, no serious damage was caused. 

However, Johnson-Fisher’s fitness boost was tempered by news that fellow forward Rekeil Pyke remains on the sidelines with a knee injury which may or may not require surgery. 

“Dom will be available on Saturday,” Askey told trucrocity.co.uk. “Rekeil went and had a scan on his knee and he’s got some floating bone which might require an operation.

“He might be able to have an injection but we’re just waiting to see and we’ll know what he will need in the next couple of days. 

“It isn’t good news because he’s never really been injury free since he’s been with us, which has obviously been a big disappointment for everybody, himself included. Everybody else is fit and ready to go despite one or two suffering with illness in the past week or so.”

Last time out, City were defeated 3-1 at Hartlepool United but Askey’s charges delivered a much-improved performance with the final scoreline given a flattering look by a third home goal with the last kick of the game. 

With no game last weekend due to Wealdstone’s participation in the Emirates FA Cup, Askey is keeping his fingers crossed that this period of inactivity will be beneficial for his side. 

“We’re hoping the break will have helped us,” he added. “It has given us time to get over any knocks and the travelling that we’ve been doing. So hopefully, we come back refreshed and ready to go for a good game against Southend. 

“It’ll be a great test for us and at the same time, when playing in the cup, you can do so with a little bit more freedom. For cup games it is all about what happens on the day and if we can have a good day, then hopefully we can get a result and give the players some confidence.”

After the trip to Roots Hall, City then have a daunting run of league fixtures with matches against Wealdstone, York, Yeovil and Forest Green as 2025 draws to a close. 

With what is coming up and the side’s current position at the foot of the National League, will the 61-year-old, who led City to the National League South title last term, consider rotating his squad?

“Yes, with the games that are coming up,” he admitted. “We’ve got this game on Saturday, which is quite a distance again, and then we’ve got Wealdstone on Tuesday and York on the following Saturday. 

“So that will be an important factor in switching one or two (players) around and we will look to build on the performance at Hartlepool. 

“The majority of that game, I felt as though we’ve controlled it and it looked as though, again, that we were going to get a result, if not three points, at least one point. However, we lacked concentration and we ended up losing the game. 

“And we’ve got to cut out those errors because we’re not getting totally outplayed. We’re competing, but we’ve got to start getting the results because we’ll start to run out of games soon. So if we can go to Southend and get some confidence from it, it could help us massively towards getting to where we want to be at the end of the season.”

City have already faced Southend once this term in the league at the TCS and in a tight affair, Sam Austin’s fortunate strike after 63 minutes is all that separated the two teams. 

Askey, whilst acknowledging the strength of Southend, also felt that his troops more than matched the Shrimpers at TR4 back in September. 

He also picked out striker Harry Cardwell, a recent signing from Forest Green Rovers, as Southend’s one to watch. 

“I thought we played quite well against them at home but they are a really strong team,” Askey remarked. 

“They have just fetched in Harry Cardwell who is a centre forward from Forest Green. He’s a really good player at this level and will be a tough test for us, but one that you’ve got to relish as a player and a manager going into the game on Saturday.”