MICHAEL COULSON is hoping he does not have to take up an offer from York City manager Russ Wilcox to skip training sessions.

The 26-year-old attacker, who has already suffered cruciate ligament damage three times in his career, has admitted he feared the worst when he felt discomfort in his knee following last month's games at AFC Wimbledon and Hartlepool.

But an exploratory scan ruled out another serious problem and, while Wilcox has sanctioned time off for Coulson if he feels further pain, the ex-Barnsley and Scarborough forward is counting on that being unnecessary.

Following his hospital trip, Coulson completed 90 minutes during Saturday's 1-1 draw at Plymouth without any ill effects and said: "Sitting out training sessions is probably the sensible approach but I’m not the type of person who likes to take time off.

"I’ve missed enough training in my career to not want to be anywhere near physio rooms and gyms.

If I need to do it, I need to do it, but it will be a last resort because I want to be out there every day.

"I was very scared about my knee because it had flared up after the Wimbledon and Hartlepool games, so I had a scan and I was told it was basically a muscle behind my knee that had swollen up. That was a massive relief and I felt a lot better.

"Hopefully, with a weekend without a game now, it will be perfect for the next game. The surgeon said my knee is not in a great way inside, but that’s to be expected with the amount of work I have had done on it.

"He doesn’t see it as a problem, though, for me and said, if needs be, I can get it cleaned out in the summer as another last resort."

While this weekend's free Saturday, caused by the Minstermen's early exit from the FA Cup, might come at an opportune time following Coulson's knee scare, the winger also admitted he would have liked an opportunity to carry on the kind of momentum that has seen the team collect four points from a possible six after back-to-back trips to Hartlepool and Plymouth.

"It’s nice to play every week and training with no game at the weekend will be a bit weird because it does not really happen during a season," he admitted. "But we have got to take the positives and we will all be fresh in two weeks’ time."

City's next match is at home to AFC Wimbledon on Saturday, December 13 when the Minstermen will be bidding to avoid a 13th fixture without a win at Bootham Crescent.

That tally would be one short of the club record, set back in 1981/82, with Coulson keen to escape that entry on his playing CV.

"Away from home, we have been pretty strong all season," the one-time England 'C' international pointed out, referring to a record that has seen them pick up more points on the road this term than third-placed Shrewsbury and Plymouth, who are sitting in sixth. "There’s been a few blips but the majority of performances have been good.

"We’ve got to take that into our home games now and play with no fear. We want our home fans to see us play well because they’ve not really seen that.

"The aim has to be to get three points at home in our next game because that would shoot us up the table.

"The run without a win has been playing on everybody’s minds a little bit so, hopefully, the fans can get behind us at home and be our 12th man. I know that’s a cliché but it does make a massive difference."

With Wes Fletcher having returned from medial ligament trouble and Jake Hyde approaching full fitness following his injury concerns, Coulson reckons that, with teenage pair Diego De Girolamo and Carlton Morris also recruited on loan, the club's striking choices have heightened since he was leading the line at the start of the season.

"Hydey sniffs chances out and puts them away, while Wes can make anything happen out of nothing, so it’s great to have them both fit," Coulson confessed. "They are two quality strikers – 100 per cent.

"We’ve then got Diego and Carlton, who are promising youngsters, so we’ve got a lot of options. As the gaffer has said a few times, we have competition for every position around the squad.

"You need that so, if people aren’t performing, people can come into the team with the same standard and, maybe, we missed that a little bit earlier in the season. It keeps everyone on their toes.

"I think it’s a massive boost for the team and that there’s quite a lot to be excited about. Hopefully, now, we can put the start to the season behind us and kick on."

Coulson, meanwhile, declared that he was happy operating on the flanks again even if he slightly misses the greater involvement offered by a more central role.

"Sometimes, it gets a bit frustrating out wide and I go wandering a little bit because you don’t always get the ball when you think you should, especially after playing up front, which I enjoyed," he explained. "But I just want to be in the team no matter where I’m playing. If I feel like I’m doing a good job for the team, then that’s me happy."