YORK City defender David McGurk could be back for next weekend’s trip to Eastbourne.

The Press Player of the Year leader had expected to be sidelined for the rest of the month after picking up a calf injury during Tuesday night’s 2-1 FA Trophy victory at Oxford.

But, although he will be missing for tomorrow’s home game with Lewes and Tuesday night’s Setanta Shield tie at Barrow, he is likely to then be ready for a return to action. City manager Martin Foyle said: “It’s not as bad as we first thought and it was the right decision to bring him off quickly at Oxford.”

Darren Kelly is expected to deputise against Lewes while right-back Ben Purkiss is not likely to be risked before Tuesday night as he continues to recover from his stomach strain.

Midfielder Steven Hogg will also be missing with a minor knee problem and Craig Farrell is another fitness doubt, but Simon Rusk returns to contention after serving a one-match ban.

Despite second-bottom Lewes’ lowly standing, Foyle has warned his team that the East Sussex side might now prove a different proposition following the January loan signings of unknown Barnet strikers Anthony Charles and Keiron St-Aimie.

The City boss said: “The January transfer window has probably come at the wrong time in terms of this match because they’ve brought in some new faces to try and kick on themselves so I’m not sure what we will get from them, but it’s all about how we perform anyway.”