YORK City winger Josh Carson will return to action early next week after more than seven months on the sidelines with cruciate ligament damage.

Carson, who injured his knee during last season’s 1-0 victory at Portsmouth in March, is set to be involved during an “in-house” match that will also see Wes Fletcher given a run-out after missing the last five games with hamstring trouble.

On Northern Ireland international Carson’s comeback, City boss Russ Wilcox said: “Josh has impressed me and is looking sharp in training during small-sided stuff.

“He needs 11 v 11 work though and will get that next week. His knee seems fine and he is raring to get back in the squad.

“We were a bit depleted when I first came in but, fingers crossed, we’ve got a few bodies coming back.”

Fletcher was not risked during the 1-0 win at Cheltenham but is closing in on a recall to the squad with Wilcox adding: “Wes trained on Friday but he’s been out for a month so we’re being careful.

“We had quite a few options up top (at Cheltenham) with Jake Hyde and Ryan Brunt on the bench but we will have an in-house game on Monday or Tuesday for players who have not performed of late and he will be one of those.”