NIGEL WORTHINGTON is hoping striker Wes Fletcher will be fit “sooner rather than later” after he was injured during the second half of York City’s 1-1 draw with Blackpool at Bootham Crescent.

The 22-year-old, who came on at the start of the second half, limped off with nine minutes left after rolling over on his ankle.

Fletcher wasn’t tackled but seemed to land awkwardly and, after being looked at by Minstermen physio Jeff Miller, was substituted by the City boss.

“Wes has just rocked his ankle a little bit so it’s early days as far as assessing it,” said Worthington when asked of Fletcher’s condition. “He’s being looked at to see what the extent of the damage is. We are hoping it will not be too bad and that he will be fit sooner rather than later.

“I think he did feel it so it was common sense on his part that he got Jeff on to have a look and, from our point of view, staff are not going to risk anybody in that situation at the moment to run through the pain barrier. That will come soon enough in two week’s time.”

Worthington praised the healthy competition in his squad following the second of four home friendlies, which saw Michael Coulson open the scoring with a bullet into the bottom corner, only for Blackpool to equalise within a minute through Bobby Grant.

While critical of his side’s speed of play during the first half, Worthington was more satisfied after the break.

Of Coulson, he added: “Michael has come in and he has been in very good shape, as have all the other players, and he has looked sharp. Probably the thing that pleases me most at the moment is that we have got a reasonably good, strong group where there is competition for places all over the pitch.

“That can only be healthy. Yes, there will be disappointment if you are not in the first team but, if and when the call comes and you are in, you have got to be ready to grab it.”

Worthington continued: “I was very pleased with the workout. It was a very humid day. Blackpool had their fair share of the ball but we kept our shape. I thought we were very slow with our play in the first half.

“We deliberately picked it up in the second half and I thought we looked the better team. All you can do from pre-season games is monitor the players individually, see where the fitness levels and performances are and, as a manager, I have gone through pre-seasons where we have won every game and then gone and lost the first four in the league.

“I’ve also gone where we’ve not won a game in pre-season and then got off to a good start.

“It’s more about the exercise, the aptitude and the application and I am very pleased, three and a half weeks in, with where we are at and what we are doing.”

New loan signing Ben Davies will join the squad this morning after coming from Preston North End and Worthington said he had been tracking the 17-year-old left back since the end of last season.

“I am delighted he is coming in. He will be a nice addition,” he said. “He’s a good athlete, he’s good on the ball and he is a very solid player so, again, a nice addition to the group.

“As a full-back you need to be pretty decent on the ball to move forward. He likes to get forward and is a decent defender. There are a lot of plusses for him and we like his attitude.

“We had him watched last week by a friend of mine who scouts for a bigger club, shall we say, and he was very, very impressed with his performance.

“It’s something I am prepared to do – give young ones a chance – and there is a message out there to the young players at the club that if you work hard and fit in to what we are trying to do, the opportunity will come.”