TEENAGE midfielder Leigh Wood has been drafted in the York City squad for tomorrow's match with Macclesfield.

With first teamers Kevin Hulme and Christian Fox this week ruled out for the rest of the season manager Terry Dolan has been left perilously short of midfield cover and so has turned to the 17-year-old Wood, a former Selby High School pupil.

In his second year of a three year trainee scholarship, Wistow-based Wood is a stylish midfield playmaker who joined the club's centre of excellence aged 12 and was selected for England schoolboy trials at 14.

Dolan was at Molineux on Tuesday night as Wood played a starring role in the youth team's gallant 2-1 defeat in the FA Youth Cup at the hand of Wolves.

The City chief has always rated the youngster. Wood was an unused sub in City's final game of last season at Leyton Orient and has since travelled with the first team on a handful of occasions.

"I have been watching his progress very closely and on Tuesday night he looked a bit more like the player I saw at the end of last season," said Dolan.

"The youth team are out of the cup now and it is a chance for one or two of them to get some experience in the reserves and if they do well there they can push for the first team squad."

Graham Potter is also added to the squad after missing City's last two games with flu, while Marc Thompson has also recovered from a foot injury but may have to settle for a place on the bench.

Dolan has yet to revel his starting line up, but with Macclesfield expecting to play with just one striker it seems likely the City manager will make some tactical changes.

He said: "When the team is not playing well apart from the obvious - you have got to work hard - you've got to try different things and I am not averse to trying different things."

Updated: 11:56 Friday, January 19, 2001