Colchester United manager Danny Cowley will make a change to his starting line-up for Saturday's League Two trip to Shrewsbury Town. It will be the first time in four league matches that Cowley has altered his first eleven, a move forced by the absence of midfielder Jay Williams on international duty with St Kitts and Nevis.

Rob Hunt and Paul Digby are the two players in contention to fill the midfield vacancy at Croud Meadow. Cowley must also plan without striker Jaden Williams, who begins a three-match suspension after his red card against Cheltenham Town. The club's appeal against that dismissal was unsuccessful, meaning the forward will be unavailable until around October 20.

Rob Hunt appears to be the leading candidate after earning high praise from Cowley for his performance in midweek. The experienced defender, who wore the captain's armband after coming on at half-time, impressed in the 3-1 Jersey Mike's Trophy defeat to Peterborough United. "Rob Hunt came out, wore the armband and showed in the second half everyone how to defend in wide areas," Cowley said. "That was exactly what it should look like."

There is mixed news on the fitness front ahead of the game. New signing Beryly Lubala, who joined on a short-term deal on Friday, is expected to be named in the squad. Left-back Jake Leake could also return from a shoulder injury. However, midfielder Teddy Bishop remains sidelined, and Ben Perry is unlikely to be involved despite returning from a long-term knee issue in a midweek outing.

Cowley also expressed concern about Jay Williams' ability to handle a quick turnaround of matches following his international commitments, noting the player is still building towards full fitness. The U's head into the fixture sitting 15th in the League Two standings with 10 points from their opening eight games. Their recent form shows they have scored an average of 1.25 goals per game while conceding 1.13, and they will be looking to improve on that defensive record. They drew 2-2 with Shrewsbury just days ago in a match where they conceded a goal in the 95th minute, a result that extended their current unbeaten run in the league to three matches. The full rundown of their upcoming schedule, including this key away fixture, can be found on the fixtures page.

This story first appeared at Colchester Gazette