JOHN McCombe has been urged to take his opportunity if he is handed a first York City appearance of the season at home to Cambridge on Saturday.

The 30-year-old defender has been overlooked for selection this term, having featured in the final ten games of last season.

But he is poised for a recall, ahead of the likes of rookie pair Taron Hare and George Swan, with Dave Winfield serving a one-match ban for being shown his fifth yellow card of the season during Tuesday's 2-1 home defeat to Oxford.

On his options for replacing Winfield, City chief Russ Wilcox said: "The place is up for grabs, although the obvious choice is John (McCombe) because he's played a lot of games alongside Keith (Lowe) and, whoever comes in, the message will be the same - they have to grasp the opportunity with both hands.

"With John, we're not talking about a kid - he's an experienced player who's been there and done it so, if he does play, I want him to go out and perform and give me a problem. I'm a big believer in rewarding players if they do well, otherwise there's no point in having a squad.

"You can't just pick the same players every week if they're available. Everyone needs to know that, if they're not performing, they come out of the team and, if they do well when they are in the side, they stay in."

Michael Coulson could also be given his first taste of action this campaign following the groin injury that also kept him sidelined through the entire pre-season.

The 27-year-old attacker featured in this week's 3-1 reserve defeat to Hartlepool and could get involved from the bench against Cambridge with Wilcox adding: "Michael played 45 minutes which was pleasing.

"We lost 3-1 but it was 1-0 at half-time when he went off and he set Callum Rzonca up for our goal. The few changes we made for the second half probably didn't help but, it wasn't about the result, it was about getting players back and, fingers crossed, he can hopefully play some part against Cambridge.

"It's too soon for him to start but I'm hoping I can get him in the 18-man squad because that will give people a lift and nobody more so than Michael himself. He has been very frustrated and he's a very conscientious and keen player, who's a good professional and gives us options because, with his versatility, he can play out wide, behind the frontman or as a striker.

"I saw little glimpses of what he can offer against Hartlepool with his little give-and-goes and pass-and-follows and we've been missing that bit of quality. Hopefully, he can bring it to the table but we've got to make sure we don't expect too much, too soon from him.

"I don't want to put too much weight on his shoulders and we can't be looking for him to come back as some form of saviour."

Midfielder Luke Summerfield is unlikely to be involved, though, this weekend, as he takes longer to recover from the concussion and back pain he suffered from his awkward fall against Notts County last Saturday.

"He's still not feeling himself, which is a concern," Wilcox revealed.

Eddie Nolan and Emile Sinclair remain doubtful too after missing the Oxford loss with Wilcox adding: "They have both got tight hamstrings and we can't risk longer-term damage by playing them if they're not 100 per cent."

Despite ex-City and Manchester United midfielder Jonathan Greening playing for the reserves, Wilcox also stressed that were no plans to bring the 36-year-old, development phase coach out of retirement.