Darlington skipper Craig Liddle is ready to put his injury nightmare behind him at York City tonight.

Liddle has not played November's 2-0 win at Cheltenham Town.

However, after returning to full training last week, the defender is ready to step up his recovery from a double hernia for Neil Maddison's reserve side.

Liddle's anticipated return will come as a boost to manager David Hodgson, whose side moved up to fifth in League Two following Saturday's 3-0 win over Shrewsbury Town at the Williamson Motors Stadium.

After a number of injury setbacks during recent seasons, the 33-year-old will be relieved to report a clean bill of health.

With separate stomach and shoulder problems, Liddle spent a lengthy spell on the sidelines earlier this season.

However, physio Paul Gough has backed Liddle to come back stronger than ever.

"Craig is looking as fit as he has done for a long time," said Gough. "He's put a lot of hard work in and now all he needs is a bit of match practice. He's suffered a lot of pain in the past by playing, but he's close to being back to his prime."

If Liddle comes through tonight's game unscathed then he will hope to be included in the squad which travels to Southend on Saturday.

Likewise, midfielder Stephen Thomas and David McGurk will be looking to stake their claim at KitKat Crescent this evening.

Read more about the Quakers here.