Martin 'nowhere near' playing for Bristol Rovers

Former Bristol Rovers forward Chris Martin is "nowhere near" a return from a knee injury that could see him playing for the club again says head coach Darrell Clarke.

Martin last played for Rovers in March, scoring twice in a 3-2 win against Bolton before undergoing surgery on his knee later that month.

The 36-year-old's contract with the Gas expired in the summer but he has been rehabilitating with the club as he returns to fitness.

Bristol Rovers have lost their past five league matches scoring two goals during that time.

"That's nowhere near [Martin's return], I don't see that as being a conclusion to a problem," Clarke told BBC Radio Bristol.

"Chris is working with the medical team but I've not seen him out on the grass enough to think that this is going to be something moving forward in the short term."

Bristol Rovers have scored 14 goals this season in the league, putting them in the bottom four clubs in the division.

They have however been without a number of key forwards in recent weeks due to injury with Promise Omochere missing five of past six league matches and Ellis Harrison unavailable for the past two.

Away from the league the Gas have found ways to win, beating Plymouth 1-0 in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday and also beating Bromley 2-1 in the FA Cup first round two weeks ago.

Yet Clarke said there still has been "nowhere near enough end product".

"We've created enough chances to probably score more goals, however we should be creating a hell of a lot more for the territory we've got," he added.

"We're going to keep working away, chipping away and work with what we've got until the others come back."

Rovers travel to Accrington Stanley, three places and three points below them in the table, on Saturday in their next match.

"I'm expecting a winning performance on Saturday," Clarke added.

"I'm expecting us to go up there and perform to a level that makes sure we can get the three points, no matter how many we've got out."