Port Vale manager Neil Aspin has revealed why the Valiants decided to recall Sam Hornby from his loan spell at Chester FC .
The Vale boss, whose side sit 22nd in League Two, recalled 23-year-old Hornby from his spell with the Blues after an injury to back-up keeper Rob Lainton meant that they needed competition for first choice stopper Ryan Boot.
Hornby, who made 13 appearances for the Blues, was supposed to remain with cash-strapped Chester until the end of the season but he will now head back to Vale Park to sit on the bench and play reserve team football.
Aspin told the Stoke Sentinel: "The problem is that Rob Lainton didn’t play in the reserves last week because he had a problem with his hip. He wanted to play in the reserves tomorrow, but the physio informed me today that he needs to go for a scan on his hip.
Dag & Red 3 Chester 2
"So, if he is going to be on the bench he needs to be full fit, which he isn’t. So, we need to recall Sam and put him on the bench and let him play in the reserves. That’s what we have decided to do.
"The goalkeeping situation has been a problem all season, there is no getting away from the fact.
"There have been a lot of decisions that have been made which have caused problems from the start of the season, of which that is one."
Hornby's departure means that Liverpool loanee Andy Firth is likely to get the nod for Saturday's clash at home to Bromley (3pm).
Firth, 21, is on loan at Chester until the end of the season and has played under-23 football with Liverpool. told the Stoke Sentinel
