Neal Ardley will make a late decision on Alex Lacey’s fitness as the Notts County defender faces a race against time to play at Hartlepool on Saturday.
Lacey missed last weekend’s draw against Woking because of a problem with his hip flexor that led to Pierce Bird being drafted in as his replacement.
But the former Luton defender was able to take in some of Thursday’s training session giving hope that he could be fit to travel.
Magpies boss Ardley says, however, that he may leave it as late as the morning of the game to face Pools before he makes a decision as to whether he will be available.
“Alex joined in training today but only for part of it so we’re still unsure on him,” said Ardley.
“There’s something there. We’ve had his hip scanned and don’t think there’s any danger of losing him for a long time which is why we were happy for him to train.
“We’ll have another look and maybe even Saturday morning before we make any decisions on the line-up.”
Lacey has been excellent since joining the club prior to Christmas having been snapped up on a free transfer.
But to ease the growing concern over the lack of centre-backs, Notts signed Adam Long from Wigan in a loan deal on Thursday and he is in the squad.
