RETURNING forward Marc Richards could make a surprise return to the County Ground this Saturday as Swindon Town host Tranmere Rovers in their latest League Two contest.

Initially it was feared Richards would be out until the end of September after he suffered a shoulder injury when landing awkwardly after contesting a header during Town’s pre-season friendly against Melksham.

The 36-year-old went under the knife to try and repair the damage caused by the fall and tests since have been positive and allowed the former Northampton man to take his place back on the training pitch.

While Richards revealed he is only likely to start full contact training towards the end of this week, Town boss Brown suggested the experienced striker could make an appearance from the bench this weekend if required.

His comments follow a third successive game without a goal from open play for Town, and Brown admitted that statistic may have been different if Richards has been on the pitch on Tuesday in the Carabao Cup first round defeat to Forest Green Rovers.

Brown said: “Marc probably won’t be starting on Saturday, but he will be playing some part.

“The best chance of the game for us (on Tuesday) probably would have been converted had Marc Richards been on the field.

“It was a predatory chance where the ball flashed across the six-yard box – it won’t even register as a shot on goal.

“But it’s one of those goalscoring opportunities that needs to be put away.”

While Brown spoke highly of his midfield following Tuesday’s loss, the Town boss admitted he’s still lacking experience in defence.

The 59-year-old is actively chasing the signature of two defenders to bring to the club on loan.

“Recruitment is still ongoing, I want experience at the back and there are one or two we’ve got on tabs,” said Brown.

“The two in midfield (Toumani Diagouraga and Martin Smith) plus Michael Doughty caused enough problems in the first half to go two or three up.

“But we can’t continue to do that. We must, as a group, get a grip of the game by getting in front.

“Once we get in front it will hopefully just all flow.

“There’s an air of anxiety about the opportunities that are coming and then going from our point of view.

“We’ve got to relax the players, it’s as simple as that.

“We’ll plan today and tomorrow for Tranmere to get this season up and running. We need to put the Tranmere game to bed.”

Meanwhile Dion Conroy’s absence from Tuesday night’s squad was simply precautionary after the 22-year-old was suffering from a jarred knee after taking a hit during Town’s trip to Lincoln at the weekend.

Brown said: “If I had risked Dion (Conroy), who knows what could have happened.

“He had the knee tested on Wednesday from a scientific point of view. Fingers crossed he’ll be on the training ground come Thursday and Friday.”