YORK City midfielder Levi Mackin is waiting to hear whether he faces three months on the sidelines due to medial knee ligament damage.

Mackin will play no part in tonight’s Blue Square Bet Premier clash at Grimsby Town and could be out until November should his initial fears be realised.

City’s 24-year-old anchorman limped out of Saturday’s disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Kidderminster Harriers with just 39 minutes of the new season having elapsed.

As yet, Mackin has been unable to get an accurate diagnosis of his injury due to swelling but he is hoping that it is less serious than first anticipated.

The former Wrexham midfielder said: “It’s a bit blown up at the moment so we can’t tell what it is.

“At the time, I was really worried because my knee was making a weird clicking noise and I thought it might be a medial ligament injury, which I’ve had on the other leg in the past.

“I was gutted because it was 40 minutes into the new season and probably my first tackle but we don’t know what it is yet because there’s a lot of fluid so you can’t get a proper look at it.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that I’ve just jarred it.

“I could hardly walk on Saturday and was on crutches but it’s a bit easier to stand on now.”

Mackin’s absence at Blundell Park could hand former Mariners’ winger Peter Till his first City start against his former club with Alex Lawless moving into the middle of the park, as happened at the weekend.

Alternatively, City manager Martin Foyle could recall Neil Barrett, who was left on the bench against Kiddy.

Whatever the team selection, Mackin insists that the Minstermen will need to begin this evening’s match sharper than they looked on Saturday.

He said: “We didn’t start well against Kidderminster and they were a lot brighter. Then, it all seemed to go a bit wrong.

“The only way you can get over a game like that is to work as hard as you can.

“We will also need to start the match a lot better because it will be a tough game with them having just been relegated.

“They will have a few fans behind them as well, so it’s even more important to start well to try and frustrate them.”