Rochdale boss Steve Eyre will resist the temptation to replace David Ball with another loanee until the striker’s immediate future at ­Peterborough is clearer.

Ball’s return to his parent club this week has left a frontline vacancy up for grabs, but Eyre will bide his time.

“We’ll wait and see what happens,” said Eyre. “We’ll have to be patient as Darren Ferguson was well within his rights to take him back into the fold and now it’s up to him what happens next.”

It looks as though Matt Barnes-Homer, Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro and Reece Gray will battle it out to partner Ashley Grimes tomorrow when Rochdale entertain Colchester.

Joe Widdowson’s (shin) is out so Pim Balkestein is likely to continue at full-back.

Eyre was expected to bolster his backline with the signing of a Brazilian-born Portuguese trialist ahead of the match.

Rochdale league form: WLLWD

Colchester league form: DLWWD

Key opponent: Anthony Wordsworth - consistent midfielder with an eye for goal

Prediction: Rochdale 1 Colchester 0 - it should be a tight contest but home advantage should see Dale home

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