Injury spikes return of goal ace Clayton

9:02am Friday 10th October 2008

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INJURY has foiled York City boss Colin Walker’s attempts to lure Crewe Alexandra striker Clayton Donaldson back to KitKat Crescent.

But the Railwaymen have told Walker to inquire again in four weeks’ time when Donaldson could be available for a loan move.

The 24-year-old forward, who scored 44 goals in 93 games during two prolific seasons with the Minstermen, has made just seven appearances – all as a substitute – for the League One outfit since his summer switch from Hibernian.

His latest outing came in Monday night’s 1-0 Football League Trophy defeat at Tranmere Rovers, but he is now expected to be sidelined until November.

Walker, who is still hoping to add a new forward to his squad ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Woking, added that Donaldson was one of a number he has pursued in recent weeks, including Morecambe’s Michael Twiss, Kidderminster’s Justin Richards and Huddersfield Town’s Luke Beckett.

Any move would need to be a loan transfer, with the transfer window only reopening in January, and the City boss said: “I made a little inquiry about Clayton, but he’s injured at the moment and I’ve been told to come back in a month when he will be fit and either in or out of their team, so we’ll have to wait and see. The search is ongoing and my mobile is always on. I’m speaking to several players, but if you want a striker that’s scoring goals I’m not sure people want to let them go. It’s been well-documented that we’ve spoken to Luke Beckett and I’ve had discussions with Justin Richards and Michael Twiss as well.

“That’s three I can think of off the top of my head. They all nearly came, but it’s all about what happens now. I’ve got to try and get people in who I think will improve the team and finish off the chances we are creating.

“We’re looking down different avenues – top strikers in our division, ones in League One and in League Two and I’ve even had a bit of a shout with one at a Premier League club. He’s a young centre forward, but I’ve got to decide whether that’s the right or wrong way to go.”

On-loan Rotherham midfielder Peter Holmes has returned to training after missing Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat at Wrexham and captain Mark Greaves is also expected to be available tomorrow despite feeling the after effects of his virus.

Walker added Onome Sodje should return to training next week after missing the last two matches with a hamstring problem.

The City boss said: “He has shown good progress although we’ve got to be careful because we’re getting to the stage he was at before when he came back for a couple of games and it went again. We have to make sure the muscle is strong before he gets into the team.”

Richard Brodie, meanwhile, will serve his one-match ban tomorrow after his red card at Wrexham with Walker saying: “We’ve had more than one chat about what happened but what we said will stay between me and him.”

The Minstermen chief added he would not be relieving Craig Farrell of penalty-taking duties after his failure to convert at Wrexham, leaving that decision to the 25-year-old front man.

He said: “I’ve seen world-class players step up and miss them.

“It’s something he will have to get over if he wants to take them again and it’s whether he wants the responsibility. If it was me and I missed one, I’d still want to take the next one. That’s your job – you have to score goals and we’ll just have to see what happens because I can designate somebody and they might not be on the pitch.

“It’s not set in stone and it can boil down to how players feel.”

Walker also feels his side can still make an impact on the top end of the Blue Square Premier table despite lying 17th with one win in 12 games.

He said: “I’ve got a good squad of players and I know that we can turn things around. I also know that we are one win away from kick-starting our season and I’ve got to believe that’s going to happen tomorrow.”

City (probable): Ingham, Purkiss, McGurk, Parslow, Robinson, Wilkinson, Greaves, Rusk, Russell, McBreen, Farrell. Subs: Mimms, Kelly, Shepherd, Holmes, Boyes.

Woking (probable): Pidgeley, Conan, Hutchinson, Lorraine, Bunce, Quamina, Lambu, Sole, Marum, Ledgister, Sam-Yorke. Subs: Williams, Warnor, Moone, Pattison, Miles.

Referee: K Johnson. Kick-off: 3pm.