Hazard will have to earn Argyle recall - Cleverley

Conor Hazard has not played a game since 7 June

Plymouth Argyle's Northern Ireland goalkeeper Conor Hazard will have to earn his place in the team when he recovers from injury, says boss Tom Cleverley.

Hazard has been out since suffering a knee injury in Northern Ireland's 2-1 friendly loss to Denmark in Copenhagen in June.

Luca Ashby-Hammond has deputised for the 27-year-old all season, keeping two clean sheets in nine appearances.

Hazard could be fit for next week's game against Peterborough United or the EFL Trophy tie with Tottenham Hotspur's under-21 side on 23 September.

"Luca's done great recently," Cleverley said.

"I feel like we were really unlucky to concede two goals [last Saturday against Stockport].

"We've conceded one in the 95th minute and we've conceded a penalty that never should have been a penalty.

"I think Luca's is probably not getting the rewards he deserves recently, but he's looked a lot more assured coming for crosses, his distribution is good, and like every position now, I think I've got a little bit of healthy competition in the squad."

Meanwhile, Scottish defender Jack Mackenzie is "a couple of weeks away" from being able to make his debut - the former Aberdeen player has not featured since pre-season.

Jamie Paterson has suffered a setback in recovering from his calf injury and maybe out for a few more weeks while long-term casualties Xavier Amaechi and Julio Pleguezuelo continue their rehabilitation after surgery.