KEVAN Hurst was unable to figure for Southend United at Shrewsbury Town after suffering a slight knock against York City the previous weekend.
The winger watched on from the stands as the Shrimpers secured a 1-1 draw.
And Blues boss Phil Brown felt it would have been too much of a risk to select Hurst in the squad.
“Hursty hadn’t trained all week after he picked up a knock in the game last weekend against York,” said Brown.
“He actually passed a fitness test on Friday but he hasn’t really trained sufficiently for what was going to be a really tough game.”
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