Young Doncaster Rovers goalkeeper backed if called upon, but club have other options

Oram, a first-year scholar, could make his professional debut against Salford City with first-choice goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell a doubt for the clash and the club’s other shot-stoppers, Ben Bottomley and Louis Jones, both injured.

MORE: Doncaster Rovers youngster praised after making the bench aged just 16

Mitchell did not train from Monday to Wednesday after injuring his shoulder in last weekend's win over AFC Wimbledon.

Oram had been ready to come on a substitute but Mitchell was able to see out the rest of the match.

Doncaster have a list of emergency loan targets if Mitchell does not recover in time for the trip to Greater Manchester but Rovers chief Schofield said they would be willing to go with Oram if need be.

He said: “When Mitch went down I looked around and he (Oram) was full of confidence.

"Is he ready to be in the side as first-team goalkeeper? Probably not.

"Have I seen positive things in training? Definitely.

"Is he at the level of Mitch? No, certainly not yet. As soon as we get clarity on Mitch we need to make some moves."

Schofield was due to make a call on Mitchell yesterday after meeting head physio Karl Blenkin.

He said: “We’ve obviously made some contacts. A lot of clubs are keeping their squads together now as they either try and get into the play-offs, go for promotion, or fight to stay in the league.

"That’s understandable. We’ve got a list, it’s not an extensive one, but we’ve got a few who might be available.”

English Football League (EFL) rules state that its members can sign a goalkeeper temporarily if all the ‘professional goalkeepers’ at their club are unavailable.

A ‘professional goalkeeper’ is classed as a player who has been named in the starting eleven five or more times for a Premier League or EFL club in any competitions, excluding the Papa John’s Trophy.

EFL regulations also say all emergency loan deals ‘shall be for a period of seven days and may be renewed for seven days at a time’ depending on the situation.

Goalkeepers cannot be loaned from Premier League clubs.

Doncaster will be backed by more than 1,000 travelling fans on their first ever trip to Salford’s Peninsula Stadium.