DARLINGTON have completed the signing of former fans' favourite, Matty Appleby.

The 32-year-old will make his debut against League Two leaders Yeovil Town tomorrow after re-joining Quakers until the end of the season.

The Middlesbrough-born utility man, who left Quakers for £200,000 when he joined Barnsley in 1996, recently broke back into the Oldham Athletic side following the appointment of Ronnie Moore as manager.

Appleby was close to re-joining Quakers last month after agreeing to have the remainder of his Oldham contract paid up. However, the move failed to materialise when the Latics parted company with manager Brian Talbot.

With Craig Liddle sidelined with a stomach injury, Appleby could even captain Quakers tomorrow, if Neil Maddison is rested.

Appleby last appeared for Quakers at Wembley in the 1996 play-off final defeat to Plymouth.

"Matty is an experienced professional who will be a real asset to this football club," said manager David Hodgson.

"He's a fully committed player who you know will always give you 100 per-cent.

"I'm delighted he's agreed to join us at such a crucial stage of the season."

Meanwhile, Huddersfield Town manager Peter Jackson is interested in taking Darlington defender Joe Kendrick to the McAlpine Stadium on loan until the end of the season.

Jackson has made an enquiry for the 21-year-old, with the possibility of Huddersfield striker Akpo Sodje moving in the opposite direction as a makeweight.

Despite the return of Alun Armstrong and Clyde Wijnhard from suspension for tomorrow's visit of League Two leaders Yeovil, Hodgson's attacking options are limited.

Sodje played for Quakers' reserves on Wednesday and Hodgson could be prepared to take another look at the 25-year-old.

Kendrick has made 18 starts this season after joining from 1860 Munich in the summer.

However, he recently lost his place to David McGurk, and Hodgson may allow the former Newcastle United full-back to move on.

With skipper Craig Liddle sidelined with a recurrence of a stomach problem, Hodgson is delighted with the impact McGurk has made since returning from a knee injury at the turn of the year.

He has started the last five games and Hodgson said: "The boy has came in and been fantastic. He's been unlucky with one or two injuries this season, but he's shown a tremendous attitude and he's getting his reward."

McGurk is expected to keep his place against Yeovil, who are six points clear of second-placed Scunthorpe.

"Yeovil have been going well all season and I'm sure they will give us one hell of a game," admitted Hodgson. "But we've already shown that we can beat the likes of Scunthorpe and Swansea this season, so Yeovil will be no different."

Despite last week's win over Boston Hodgson is expected to make at least three changes, with leading scorer Armstrong partnering Wijnhard in attack.

Adrian Webster is nearing full fitness after suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury last month.

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