Peter Clarke could play his first game of pre-season when Huddersfield Town visit York tonight (7.45).
But striker Jon Stead, midfielder Oscar Gobern and full-back Calum Woods are sidelined alongside the captain’s fellow centre-back Anthony Gerrard.
Stead has a groin niggle picked up during last week’s training camp in Spain, Gobern a jaw problem which means non-contact training only for the next 10 days and Woods is awaiting the results of a scan on the collar bone damage picked up at Chesterfield on Saturday.
Gerrard sustained a calf injury early in pre-season, leaving manager Mark Robins with only two specialist centre-backs, Murray Wallace and Joel Lynch, for the game at the Proact Stadium, where Chesterfield won 2-1, Danny Ward scoring for Town.
Now the boss hopes to hand a run-out to Clarke, who wasn’t risked at the weekend after having ‘tidy up’ knee surgery earlier in the summer but who trained yesterday.
“Peter is experienced enough to know his own body, so we’ll have a chat about things after today’s session,” reported Robins, who gave his players a maximum 45 minutes at Chesterfield, but is likely to extend time on the pitch tonight.
Town also send a side to Conference North club Guiseley on Wednesday, and Robins will use that fixture to give game time to those who don’t play the bulk of the game at Bootham Crescent.
For League II York, it’s a first friendly of pre-season and Robins said: “They had a good end to last season and have strengthened since. Like Chesterfield, they will give us a good test.”
Town have dismissed reports linking them with a move for Swansea defender Alan Tate, who had a loan stint at neighbours Leeds last
season.
