YORK City Knights have allowed two players to leave for Gateshead Thunder.

Winger Danny Wilson and centre Mike Mitchell today headed north on the start of a month-long loan at the Co-operative Championship One strugglers.

The duo are finding senior chances limited at Huntington Stadium and so have been allowed to get in valuable playing experience with the Thunder.

For 29-year-old Wilson the loan represents a return to the club from whom he joined the Knights ahead of the 2010 season.

He bagged eight tries in 22 appearances for York, leaving his best to last when he was one of the star Knights performers in the Championship One grand final triumph. He has scored four tries in ten first-team games this term.

He was also a key figure for Gateshead when they lifted the Championship One crown in 2008, back under the tutelage of current Knights boss Dave Woods.

The 24-year-old Mitchell, another hero of the Knights’ grand final glory, agreed a new one-year deal before the current campaign.

But personal reasons kept the centre out of contention for the first part of the season and he has now joined Gateshead as he looks to get back to rugby league action.