Chadwick a doubt for Plymouth

Luke Chadwick is rated a 50-50 chance to make this weekend's long haul to Plymouth Argyle.

The City midfielder suffered tight hamstrings during Tuesday's 3-1 home defeat by Watford and missed the final 20 minutes. Chadwick was due to work with the physios yesterday before Glenn Roeder made a decision, but the new City manager is refusing to take any gambles.

"I have learned in life sometimes it is painful to be patient, but it always pays off," said Roeder. "Never take a chance with injuries. If there is a doubt I have never known players to finish a game when they started - they always come off and normally come off making it worse than what it was originally. So I won't take a chance - it's painful because we have Hucks (Darren Huckerby) being out for a couple more games, Dion Dublin is unlikely to figure and the squad is small anyway."

It was tough luck on the 26-year-old, who has been one of City's most impressive performers under Roeder's two-match reign.

"I have not been disappointed with him at all," said Roeder. "I always thought he was a decent player. I think he is a player who needs to be given confidence. I think he needs to play for people that he knows believe in him; that is the impression I get of him around the place, as a human being. We can hopefully bring the best out of him because he is talented."

Bally Smart will not be recalled early from his loan spell at MK Dons to help inject pace into the Norwich City team.

Roeder has made it clear that pace and power - attributes that leaders Watford have in abundance - are vital in the Championship. But while Smart is rated as one of the quickest players on the club's books, Roeder is reluctant to make the wrong move as far as the 18-year-old is concerned.

"I'll just leave him where he is," said Roeder. "I need to go and learn about him myself first and see him myself. It would be wrong to pull him back and then find out I made the wrong decision for him. That is something I will be checking on quickly."