York City winger Michael Coulson survives knee scare

Coulson, who has suffered cruciate ligament damage three times in his career, felt some pain after Saturday's 3-1 victory at Hartlepool but has been given the all clear by medics and is expected to start at Home Park.

The 26-year-old attacker has kicked off all but one of the Minstermen's 22 games this term but Bootham Crescent boss Russ Wilcox has spoken about the need to manage Coulson's past injury problems correctly.

Wilcox said: "Michael has had three cruciate operations and it’s important to keep monitoring him. He felt a bit of discomfort in the back of his knee, so we needed to make sure it was all right with a scan and he’s fine.

"We just need to take things careful with him and, if we need to an pull him out of training sessions, we will do, because he has been outstanding since I came in and we need him fresh and ready."

Wilcox added, meanwhile, that returning loan striker Diego De Girolamo may start his second spell with the Minstermen on the bench at Home Park.

Front two Jake Hyde and Wes Fletcher both performed well at Hartlepool and the City boss said: "Diego scored three goals in four games the last time he was here so, hopefully, he can carry on from where he left off - we've just got to get him in the team now!

"We could throw him in straight away because he's got the quality to deal with that. It's a good decision I have to make because everybody got a massive boost from last weekend's win and I am a manager who likes to reward people when they have worn the shirt and played well so, if Diego was to come in, it might mean tinkering with the system a bit, which we were working on prior to him coming back.

"We will also look at Plymouth's system before we make any decisions."

Luke Summerfield could come into contention for his first start under Wilcox, however, after impressing as a half-time replacement for Lewis Montrose at Hartlepool, helping inspire City to victory after trailing at the interval.

Ex-Plymouth midfielder Summerfield spent 14 years at Saturday's hosts, having first joined the Devon club as a ten-year-old boy.

Wilcox admitted such circumstances can influence team selection but insisted that, if he is selected, it would be on merit and no slight on Montrose either.

"When a player is going back to an old club or where he’s from, it can come into your thinking sometimes but, more than that, I think Luke Summerfield’s performance when he came on at half-time last week sent out a message," the City boss explained.

"It brought him right to the front of my mind, although I want to stress that the second-half performance was not just about that change and Lewis Montrose going off. I’ve had a good chat with Lewis regarding that because he’s a huge part of my plans."

City will be facing a Plymouth team that have won their last seven home fixtures and, while Wilcox recognises the challenge ahead will be tough, he does not feel it is insurmountable, reasoning: "We probably couldn't wish to go to a worse place at the moment but winning runs are there to be ended.

"Somebody will do that so, hopefully, it can be us. I remember going to Leyton Orient with Scunthorpe a couple of years ago and turning them over after they had won their last eight games.

"During our last five league games, we have won two, drawn two and lost one, so we have turned a corner and are moving in the right direction. We've now got to keep our foot on the gas."

Wilcox also reckons that shackling 11-goal marksman Reuben Reid could hold the key to a result in Devon.

"With his quality, Reuben Reid should be playing at a much higher standard, which is why he’s scoring so many goals and we will have to make sure we are nice and solid at the back," the City manager pointed out.

The Minstermen, meanwhile, will leave early in the morning tomorrow for the 340-mile, south-west trip with Wilcox keen to give his side as much recovery time from the journey as possible.

"We will leave at 8am," he revealed. "I did that last season with Scunthorpe and I think it’s important to avoid being on the road at 3pm or 4pm when the traffic can be hellish.

"I want us to get there as early as we can. We will then spend a bit of time in the pool or gym because, as far as I am concerned, we have done all our football work. We can then wake up on Saturday raring to go."

Wilcox went on to declare his satisfaction at the mixture of strikers at his disposal now, with Morris joining Jake Hyde, Wes Fletcher and fellow loanee Diego De Girolamo as the City manager’s first-choice quartet.

“It’s important to go into the Christmas period with as many offensive players as you can to give you more options, competition and cover and I’m really pleased with the four we can choose from,” Wilcox admitted. “I wanted a big one, who is mobile as well.

“We also know that Diego brings that ability to play in little pockets of space, while Jake can do a bit of everything, as Wes can, along with those runs he makes behind defences.”