NEWPORT County AFC goalkeeper Joe Day could miss the birth of his new twins to play in tomorrow’s FA Cup fourth-round replay against Middlesbrough at Rodney Parade.

The Exiles number one missed the 1-1 draw at the Riverside Stadium on January 26 to be with his wife Lizzie and has been on the bench for the last two league games.

The twins have still not arrived but manager Michael Flynn is ready to select Day ahead of deputy Nick Townsend, who has deputised for the last three games, for tomorrow’s replay.

“He’s training and he’s available, no matter what,” said the manager.

“Nick has done well, but I’ll be picking what I think is the best team to win the game.

“Joe’s made himself available. It was a little bit worrying the other week when he wasn’t available, because it wasn’t what they had planned.

“It was unexpected and they had no family over and family is the most important thing.

“But now there is family around and it’s a home game.

“Fingers crossed we get a good win and the twins come Wednesday morning.

“Something will happen this week, I’m sure. Let’s just hope it’s not tomorrow!”

Asked if Day could miss the birth to face Boro, Flynn said: “It depends how long she can hold on for. I’m sure Lizzie won’t let that happen.”

Dan Butler, Mark O’Brien and Padraig Amond, who were all on the bench for Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Grimsby Town, are set to start.

South Wales Argus:

Robbie Willmott and Scot Bennett (above) also missed that match with a dead leg and a virus respectively, but both should be OK for tomorrow.

“I’m waiting to see if Robbie’s training but Scot’s fine,” said Flynn. “We’ll just see how he trains. He might be a little bit tired, but we’ll flush that out of him today.”

Fraser Franks is likely to miss out again as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury, but experienced midfield duo Joss Labadie and Andrew Crofts could feature.

“Fraser told me last week that he’d be back training but I’m not too hopeful on that,” said the boss.

“I’m realistic and I think he probably needs to look more at Saturday or a week on Tuesday.”

On Labadie and Crofts he added: “I don’t think we’ve really had that experienced midfield all season because of injuries.

“And you need that, especially away from home to kill a game off and know when to put your foot on the ball, when to waste time, when to up the tempo.

“It’s good that we’ve got people back now who should be able to do that.”

New signings Ben Kennedy, Ade Azeez and Harry McKirdy are ineligible for tomorrow's game but McKirdy could face Premier League champions Manchester City in round five, should the Exiles progress.

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