DAVID Mirfin will return to full-contact training tomorrow and should be available for York City’s home match with Altrincham this weekend.

The Press Player of the Month for February missed last weekend’s 1-0 National League North win at Leamington after suffering a facial wound that required 31 stitches during the previous game against Nuneaton.

But the on-loan Mansfield defender is now in line for a recall, as the Minstermen target a fifth straight victory.

Commenting on the 33-year-old centre-back’s return to the fold, City assistant-manager Micky Cummins said: “Dave Mirfin trained on Monday non-contact and will be back for contact training tomorrow.”

Dan Parslow remains under doctors’ supervision following the head injury he suffered more than a month ago against Hereford, but Adriano Moke and Alex Kempster will both be fit despite picking up minor niggles during last night’s North Riding Senior Cup penalty shoot-out defeat at Scarborough Athletic.

Having been loaned out to Boston United for 28 days, Jake Wright has also been told to make sure he returns ready to make an impact at Bootham Crescent during the final weeks of the campaign next month.

Macaulay Langstaff is set to be recalled next week, meanwhile, from his month-long stint at Bradford Park Avenue, where he scored the winning goal in last night’s 2-1 home triumph over Leamington, with Cummins adding: “Just like we have done with Macaulay, we will use Jake’s loan to our advantage, because he should some back sharper and fitter.

“The formation we are playing doesn’t really lend itself to having three strikers on the pitch, so 20 minutes here and there is not really beneficial to them and they need games to keep them up to speed.”

Cummins went on to reveal that the club are still on the lookout for a new attacker, but there was “nothing concrete” to report on that front, while teenage keeper Ryan Whitley was hailed as the biggest plus point from City’s Cup exit on the coast.

Whitley, who has trained with Manchester City, Liverpool and the England youth set-up in the past, kept a clean sheet as the teams were deadlocked at 0-0 over 90 minutes before the tie was settled on spot kicks, with Cummins enthusing: “We really like young Ryan and he has big potential.

“We chucked him into a hostile environment (at Scarborough), and I thought he was very good. He controlled his back-line well.

“We look at the tactical and technical information he gives to the back four and the midfield and you could hear him being quite vocal. His distribution was also pretty good, along with his decision-making and, at 6ft 4in, he carries his frame really well and has a presence.

“He got the defenders out of trouble a couple of times and has the confidence to come out with his knee up. He’s performing really well in training and his shot-stopping has got better.

“Athletically, he’s improving too, because he’s got himself into the gym and is looking trimmer. He’s pushing Adam (Bartlett) and they work really well together.

“Adam has nothing but praise for him and is pushing him along, as is the goalkeeper coach (Andy Collett). He’s come on in leaps and bounds even during the short period we have been here and there’s more to come from him.”

But the City coach was less pleased that Whitley’s opposite number at the Flamingo Land Stadium – Tommy Taylor – was only forced into one save during normal time when he caught an inswinging David Ferguson corner under his own crossbar.

Along with Ferguson, City strikers Jordan Burrow and Alex Kempster and midfield pair Scott Burgess and Adriano Moke all kicked off the tie, as Steve Watson included five players that started against Leamington at the weekend, with Cummins saying: “When it comes down to penalties, it’s all about who is the bravest and two of our lads missed the target, but the bigger concern was we fielded quite a strong team and, over the 90 minutes, we didn’t create much in terms of clear-cut chances to win the game.”

The other five outfield players on duty at Scarborough had all featured in the first team this term, but Cummins confessed that none of the quintet are likely to earn recalls as the club look to rack up a fifth straight win on Saturday.

“Joe Tait, Tom Bradbury, Alex Harris, Josh Law and Nathan Dyer all needed minutes and it was an opportunity to give them game time to see what we have in the group,” Cummins pointed out. “They did OK and the game gave us food for thought in some positions but, off the back of four wins on the trot, we won’t be changing anything on Saturday unless it’s forced on us.”

The Minstermen contributed significantly to a big crowd of 1,608 for the semi-final clash and, on the following for what has traditionally been treated as a reserve-team tournament, Cummins declared: “It was quite a lively atmosphere and our fans were quality as usual.

“We have got their backing and we will give them our support too and it was good for our young players to play in front of that type of crowd.”