SWINDON Town has confirmed that five of the club's players will be absent from Ben Garner's squad for the next two games due to international call-ups.

Jojo Wollacott, Anthony Grant, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Alex Gilbert, and Jonny Williams have joined up with their respective countries and will be unavailable for selection against Forest Green Rovers in League Two on Saturday as well as against Plymouth Argyle in the EFL Trophy next Tuesday.

The return date for all will vary, but Williams, Kesler-Hayden, and Gilbert are likely to be back for the following Saturday's League Two fixture at home to Rochdale.

Grant and Wollacott's return date is much less clear with the rules on quarantine for players entering red-list countries remaining murky.

Wollacott has earned a first call-up to Ghana's senior squad to take on Zimbabwe in two World Cup qualifiers while Grant re-joins the Reggae Boyz of Jamaica to take on the USA, Canada, and Honduras in World Cup qualifying.

Kesler-Hayden's England U20s face Italy and the Czech Republic, and Gilbert's Republic of Ireland U21s will take on Luxembourg and Montenegro in two UEFA U21 European Championships qualifiers. Williams joins up with his Wales squad who will face the Czech Republic and Estonia in World Cup qualifiers.

In the aftermath of Town’s win at Bristol Rovers on Saturday, Garner was asked if Town’s slightly weaker bench – a factor that has proved to be invaluable this season – would affect them against Forest Green.

Even if a change has not led directly to the altering of a result, Town’s substitutions have often allowed the County Ground outfit to close out a game in their favour this term.

Garner stated his squad is still full of quality anyway and has called on those who start to take their chance.

He said: “I think that was our strongest bench of the season on Saturday because we had everyone fit and available.

“But we’ve got Jordan Lyden available for selection against Forest Green – I thought about putting him in the squad last week, but I felt he needed another week of training.

“We’ve got young Mo Dabre, Harry Parsons, and Ricky Aguiar that also didn’t travel with us last week, and they’ve been like beasts in training. These are young, hungry players that have come in, we want those players pushing through.

“With the guys going away it gives these players opportunities, and I’d absolutely love for someone to come into the team and nail down that shirt. When players return from international duty, they’ve got to fight to get themselves back in.”