YORK City could be in line for a hat-trick of good news as the Minstermen prepare for the visit of Bristol Rovers to Bootham Crescent on Saturday.

Buoyed by the 1-1 draw against Darlington in midweek which brought to an end a run of three successive defeats, City have been given another major lift with the news Christian Fox, Chris Smith and skipper Darren Edmondson could all be in contention to face the Pirates.

Midfield playmaker Fox and central defender Smith have been training all week after lengthy spells on the sidelines and are the most likely to be in the reckoning for the weekend.

Wing-back Edmondson was returning to first team training only for the first time today, after being troubled with a calf problem since the end of last month.

Player-chief Chris Brass admitted Saturday's game may come too soon for Edmondson. However, the City supremo said having his influential skipper edging ever closer to a return was still a major boon.

Smith has yet to feature in the first team this season after undergoing a hernia operation at the end of the last campaign.

Last week, he came through 20 minutes of a reserve team game unscathed and his availability for the weekend would be particularly well-timed.

Fellow centre-back Stuart Wise will start a three match ban on Saturday as a result of the red card he received in the 2-1 defeat to Rochdale earlier this month.

Smith would be a straight replacement for Wise, although Brass admitted his lack of match practice was a concern.

Midfield ace Fox has not featured since the opening day of the season, when he turned in an impressive performance against Carlisle United before falling victim to a crude challenge from United's Adam Rundle.

Like Smith, Fox, who has not even featured in a second string game, is lacking match practice but having trained all week actual fitness should not be a concern.

Jon Parkin remains City's only injury concern - he is now suffering from a virus.

Updated: 11:38 Thursday, September 18, 2003