PAOLO Di Canio will not rush back his injured stars until he is sure they are fully fit, with the Swindon boss confident in the abilities of the players at his disposal to do what he asks of them.

Paul Caddis, Matt Ritchie and Lee Holmes all missed Tuesday’s win over Barnet.

Despite their absence Town still recorded an ultimately comfortable 2-0 victory at Underhill.

Di Canio has received positive news regarding the recovery of the trio, but only Holmes is expected to be added to the squad that faces Morecambe today.

And Di Canio believes Tuesday’s win proves that he is under no pressure to bring the likes of Ritchie and Caddis back into the first-team fold before they are 100 per cent ready.

“I don’t need to force the others to get back and play straight away,” he said.

“Lee Holmes is ready, with Ritchie we will decide but we don’t have pressure.

“With Caddis we are looking at Plymouth because we don’t want to force him as everything has gone okay.

“Joe Devera has done very well in a different way, he has done the job the way he could so I am very happy.

“We can keep and save him for the final push because everyone knows that we tried to recover him for Wembley but something went wrong.

“He was desperate to play and we tried to help him to recover but in the two days before the game he forced the injury a little bit more and he could not keep going, so now there is no reason to risk rushing him back. He will recover in a good way and we will bring him back with a top fitness level.”

Nathan Thompson came into the side on Tuesday for his first appearance since the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win over Exeter back in October, while Raffa De Vita has had to wait patiently for his chance to arrive again following the arrivals of Holmes and Luke Rooney.

“I have soldiers, who are ready whenever I call them,” added Di Canio.

“They don’t suddenly wake up, they are alive and ready at all times because they are good and stay involved at the same level as the players who are involved in every game.

“That is crucial for winning in the long run.”