Notts County defender Alex Lacey is back in training after a long injury lay-off but will not be ready for the big kick-off at Barnet.
The former Gillingham defender has not kicked a ball for Notts since being replaced at half-time of a 2-2 draw at Torquay United back in April.
Lacey subsequently missed all of Notts' pre-season campaign as he returned from a hip injury but took part in some of the session on Tuesday and Wednesday.
However, head coach Ian Burchnall says the centre-back is some way off in terms of full match fitness.
"He's trained part of the session today and yesterday, so we started to be reintegrated into the group, which I think is enjoyed," he said.
"I think over the next couple of weeks he'll step up the training.
"He's out of physio and is in with Ian Hutton the fitness coach and working now to kind of build as much fitness up.
"It could be two or three weeks and providing there are no setbacks, he is getting much closer."
News of Lacey's promising return to fitness will come as a huge boost for Notts with the defender having proven to be an excellent acquisition after his free transfer move in 2019.
He played a key role as Notts made the play-offs in their first season in the National League before they were beaten by Harrogate Town in the final at Wembley.
There has also been encouraging news regarding midfielder Ruben Rodrigues who has also been battling for fitness after returning from a positive Covid test.
The Portuguese attacker played the second half of the 2-2 draw against Solihull Moors at the weekend.
Rodrigues was excellent in the time he was on the pitch and scored the penalty which saw Notts come back from two goals down to draw in their final pre-season assignment of the summer.
And Burchnall has not ruled him out of facing the Bees at the weekend as Notts look to get off to the perfect start as they chase promotion to the Football League.
"We'll see about that (full 90)," Burchnall said when asked about Rodrigues' chances of playing the full game against Barnet.
"It depends on the intensity of the game and what he's doing and how much he's running.
"But I definitely think he's got come through the sessions this week but from what I saw in 45 minutes he can be in contention to start against Barnet for sure."
