Some of Peterborough United’s walking wounded are set to return on Boxing Day after Posh name six teenagers on the substitutes bench at Bristol Rovers

Posh were rocked by the surprise absence of club captain Mark Beever for the game against fellow League One promotion challengers Bristol Rovers at the Memrial Stadium on Saturday (December 21)

That meant Posh took to the field with seven first-team squad regulars - Beevers, George Boyd, Josh Knight, Frazer Blake-Tracy, Siriki Dembele, Nathan Thompson and Idris Kanu - absent and Ferguson named six teenagers on a seven-man substitutes’ bench.

But Posh battled their way to a decent 0-0 draw, a result that moved them into second place in the League One table.

“Boyd, Blake-Tracy and Beevers could be back on Boxing Day,” Ferguson revealed.

“Beevers injured his calf in the first half against Bolton, but battled through to the end. I couldn’t risk him on Saturday as we couldn’t afford a repeat of what happened with Nathan Thompson in that game (he limped off after 10 minutes).

“But Rhys Bennett stepped in and had a fine game. The mentality of this group is so strong they are just shrugging off the injury list and giving their all for the club.

“We won’t ever use injuries as an excuse. We have a squad and we just get on with things. Every substitite on Saturday was a teenager apart from the goalkeeper which is unusual, but I knd of like it as developing young players is something we are keen to do.

“And most of them have had a taste of the first team and done well. Ricky-Jade Jones was outstanding as a substitute on Saturday. To change the dynamic of a game at 17 years-old is some going.”

Posh are expected to bolster their squad with a couple of midfield signings when the January transfer window opens.