YORK City skipper Steve Davis is struggling to recover from the hip injury that ruled him out of Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Crawley Town.

The swelling on Davis' hip joint has still not subsided and the 35-year-old defender will be seeking medical advice today.

Chris Clarke deputised for Davis at Crawley but made the mistake for the home team's goal and Gary Pearson, Paul Groves and Sean Davies could all come into contention if the Minstermen captain is still sidelined for Saturday's home game against Northwich Victoria.

City boss Chris Brass said: "Steve is having his injury checked out but it is not settling down as we would have liked and we will have to wait until later in the week before we know whether he will be OK for Saturday. It's hard to know how bad it is because the swelling is right on the joint."

Former City midfielder Alan Pouton made his Hartlepool debut in Saturday's 3-2 defeat against Oldham.

Pouton, who scored eight goals in 103 appearances for the Minstermen between 1996 and 1999, has signed on a one-month loan from Gillingham.

His chances at Priestfield have been limited to one League Cup match this season after his £30,000 switch from Grimsby in January.

Updated: 10:17 Tuesday, September 14, 2004