Bristol Rovers manager Steve Evans has criticised Fabrizio Cavegn for failing to report an injury promptly, describing the situation as “unacceptable” in comments reported by Bristol Live.
The Swiss forward missed the 3-1 defeat at Crewe Alexandra, leaving Rovers without their leading scorer as they suffered a third consecutive away loss.
Evans believes earlier treatment could have improved Cavegn’s chances of being available. While assistant manager Paul Raynor revealed the striker had attempted to train twice before the fixture, the Rovers boss was frustrated by what he said had happened before those sessions.
According to Evans, Cavegn waited two days to flag the problem during time off for the players. He made it clear that the 24-year-old had been told his handling of the situation fell below expectations.
Evans Makes His Frustration Clear
Despite stressing how highly Cavegn is regarded at the club, Evans questioned why the forward had not come in sooner for treatment. He said:
“We’ve got a young striker in Fab, who we think the world of, who doesn’t report a little injury for two days last week, when the boys said had a day off. Unacceptable. Fab was made aware of that, unacceptable.
“He’d have given himself a chance, had he got out of his bed and came to work on Sunday.”
Before kick-off at Crewe, Raynor had explained that Cavegn tried to train on Thursday and again on Friday but remained uncomfortable. The decision was therefore taken to leave him out rather than risk aggravating the problem.
There remains hope that his absence will be brief, although Evans could not confirm whether he would return against Barnet on Saturday. Asked about that possibility, he said:
“Well, we hope so, you know, you never know with these things. Is it a dead leg?”
Evans also suggested the issue could be a slight strain, with the precise nature of the injury remaining unclear from his comments. His central frustration was that earlier contact with the medical staff might have given Cavegn a better opportunity to recover in time.
A Significant Absence For Rovers
Cavegn’s importance to the attack has grown since his arrival from Vaduz in August 2025 on a three-year contract. He scored 15 goals in all competitions during his first season, collecting the club’s Player of the Year and Supporters’ Club Young Player of the Season awards.
That campaign included a New Year’s Day hat-trick against Shrewsbury Town, with Cavegn scoring all three goals in a victory that ended a 14-match winless run. Having also become Rovers’ leading scorer this season, his absence at Crewe removed a key attacking threat.
Bobby Kamwa partnered Ellis Harrison in his place and produced a remarkable consolation goal from inside his own half. However, it was not enough to prevent another disappointing result on the road.
Limited Options Up Front
With Cavegn unavailable, Harrison and Joe Quigley are Rovers’ only fit, out-and-out senior strikers. Promise Omochere is on loan at Southend United, while Mees Rijks has also picked up an injury during his loan spell at Forest Green Rovers.
Evans expects Rijks to miss another two or three weeks following a training-ground challenge. The forward is receiving treatment back at his parent club, although Evans stressed that this was normal procedure rather than a criticism of Forest Green’s care.
Rovers travel to Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday before hosting Barnet in League Two. That second fixture offers the chance to extend their home league winning run to 12 matches, with Cavegn’s fitness an important question ahead of the weekend.
