THE good times continue to roll both on and off the pitch for York City.

While his team-mates are edging closer to safety Peter Duffield is poised to take a massive step forward in his recovery from a broken leg.

The former Darlington hit man expects to hear on Monday whether he can return to full training, almost seven months after suffering a double fracture of his right leg.

It would be a major boost for the 32-year-old, who'd bagged three goals in five starts and was desperate to make his summer switch from Feethams a success before suffering the cruel blow in the 2-0 win over Scunthorpe.

"He is chomping at the bit," said a delighted City chief Terry Dolan.

"He is awaiting the all-clear from the specialist to join in full-time training.

"He is doing a lot of training on his own, but it could be by Monday he is joining with everybody else.

"That will certainly be a massive boost for the lad himself and it will be a big boost for us."

Back in September, it was decided Duffield should write off this season and focus his attentions on making a complete recovery.

But there must now be a chance the popular front runner could make a welcome return before the end of the season.

Dolan insisted however that the club was not setting a time-scale but would continue its softly-softly approach.

Said the City manager: "It is a case of just letting him join in and getting used to the rigours of day-to-day training.

"It will be a bonus for everybody but he is a very determined lad and it will be nice to have him back."

As reported in yesterday's Evening Press, City's other long-term injury victim, Christian Fox, is also making remarkable progress from his knee-ligament replacement operation.

The only cloud on the injury front is defender Wayne Hall, who suffered a thigh strain against Hartlepool earlier this month.

"He has had one or two other little problems related to that," explained Dolan.

"He is now having a problem with his hip because he has been over-compensating because of his thigh. He is not ready to come back yet."

A FRACTURED foot has done little to dent former City striker Jonathan Greening's desire to quit Manchester United.

As reported in the Evening Press, Greening broke a bone in his foot while on England Under-21 duty in Albania.

The injury, expected to rule him out for a minimum of six weeks, comes just days after the Scarborough-born striker handed in a transfer request citing a lack of first team chances at Old Trafford.

The news was of particular interest to City, who stand to bank a sizeable cut of any transfer received by United.

It would have been a boost to the club then that Greening, despite his injury, still maintains his career lies elsewhere.

He said: "I'm good enough to play in any other Premier League team.

"I have to go from Manchester United. I've told the manager that I want to play more often and I'm not getting the chance with my current club.

"There is no problem and he has agreed that if the right club comes in then I can go.

"I've got to look at playing week-in and week-out at this stage of my career.

"Manchester United have got fantastic players but there is such quality it is not the end of the world if I move on."

GAY Meadow is getting ready for some mascot mayhem tomorrow with Yorkie the Lion ready to rumble.

The home of Shrewsbury Town will host its first-ever Battle of the Mascots with around 60 of the furry talismans taking part.

City's Yorkie is packing his football boots and heading for Shropshire to take part in the game, which will feature mascots from all four divisions.

The Shrews have sold almost 1,000 tickets for the match, which kicks off at 2.30pm.

Tickets, priced £3 and £2 concessions, will be available on the day.

THE York City club shop at Bootham Crescent is holding a special Sunday sale tomorrow.

The shop will be open from 10am to 1pm with an array of items on sale. Free CDs, posters and money-saving vouchers will also be up for grabs.

CITY'S Football in the Community programme have unveiled two Easter funweeks for youngsters during the upcoming school holidays.

The first will be staged from Monday, April 9, to Thursday, April 12, from 10am to 3pm at York College in Tadcaster Road.

A second will be at Cowick Hall, near Snaith, from Tuesday, April 17, to April 20.

As well as giving kids a chance to brush up on their skills, both events, priced £35, will also include a ground tour of Middlesbrough FC.

For further details, contact Paul Olsson on 01904-613017.