Hill bolsters midfield ahead of table topping clash

Rochdale manager Keith Hill has dipped into the loan market to bolster his midfield ahead of Saturday's trip to league leaders Dagenham & Redbridge.

With Dale Stephens and Simon Whaley returning to Oldham and Norwich respectively and Gary Jones, Adam Rundle and Joe Thompson all struggling to recover from injuries, Hill has signed 21-year old Will Atkinson from Premier League side Hull City.

The young winger could find himself thrust in at the deep end on Saturday with Hill's side desperately short of cover both out wide and in the centre. Who will accompany Jason Kennedy in the middle of the park is anybody's guess. Jones will be sidelined for a few weeks, Ciaran Toner is a long term absentee and Joe Thompson, the only other player in the squad to have played in the position before, is a doubt as he recovers from a thigh strain.

Young Manchester United goalkeeper Tom Heaton will maintain his place between the posts with Kenny Arthur ruled out for a number of weeks with a back problem. The backline should remain the same as that which conceded three in the defeat to Chesterfield at the weekend, while Adam Rundle and Will Buckley face a race against time if they are to recover from their respective injuries to start on the wings. Chris Dagnall and Chris O'Grady will continue their thriving partnership up front.

Despite the Chesterfield defeat Hill's men remain in the league's automatic promotion spots and would overtake Dagenham if they can beat them on Saturday, in doing so they would record their first ever win at Victoria Road in three visits. Victory would be a big ask for Hill's depleted outfit; the Daggers are unbeaten at home and have hit 21 goals on their own soil, only Notts County have more in the league, but Rochdale need only think back to their last away game in the league, and the 4-0 thrashing of then league leaders Bournemouth, to draw inspiration for an unlikely win.

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