SIMON Lappin has lost his race to be fit for Sunday’s FA Trophy final against Macclesfield.

The 34-year-old, former Premier League midfielder, who has never played at Wembley, had hoped he might recover from the ruptured Achilles he suffered in mid-February against Maidstone.

But, along with Lanre Oyebanjo and Clovis Kamdjo, he will be unavailable for the non-League showcase under the world-famous arch.

Defender Matty Fry is in contention, though, despite having not featured for the Minstermen since January and missing the end of the National League campaign with medial knee ligament damage.

On player availability for the weekend, Mills said: “Matty Fry has trained and I’m really pleased for him because he worked hard on his own last week and put himself in a position where he can get involved full-time with the group again. Lanre, Clovis and Lapps will definitely not be available, but will be travelling with us on Saturday, as we want everybody involved in the occasion.”

Mills has also confirmed that Kyle Letheren, who is out of contract this summer, will be recalled in goal with Scott Loach, who played the last nine league games of the campaign between the sticks, ineligible having arrived on loan from Notts County after the aggregate, semi-final victory over Lincoln.

Former England under-21 keeper Loach has since parted company with the Magpies, but Mills believes the Minstermen’s relegation to National League North might rule out a return to Bootham Crescent, without giving up entirely on that possibility.

The City chief added: “He’s just been released and, if we had stayed up, he had already expressed an interest in being here next season, although I think the fact that we’ve gone down might put a stop to him coming back. But it’s early days and Scott will be weighing up his options, so you never know.”

Alex Whittle, meanwhile, is set to earn a recall at left-wing back for the final, with long-throw specialist Sam Muggleton having also signed for the Minstermen after the two-legged triumph over Lincoln.