Darlington duo Brian Close and Clark Keltie will make their long-awaited returns to action next week.

Close and Keltie are set to make their first appearances of the season for the reserves on Monday night. The pair recently resumed full training and will step up their fitness against Scunthorpe at the Darlington Football Stadium.

Their return will come as a timely boost for manager David Hodgson, whose side were dumped out of the LDV Vans Trophy by Kidderminster on Tuesday.

Close was an integral part of Hodgson's side last season, but has so far spent the current campaign recovering from surgery on both ankles. After recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury in August, Keltie suffered a fresh setback when he sustained an ankle problem at the start of the season.

In both cases, operations were carried out to remove loose bone. And now, after returning to training, the pair will hope to step up their rehabilitation next week.

Midfielder Matty Appleby is a major doubt for Saturday's visit of Cheltenham Town after twisting his ankle at Kidderminster.

Winger Carlos Logan is due to see a specialist to discover the full extent of an Achilles problem.

There is better news for David Duke, who could return to action within a fortnight. Duke was taken to hospital with a suspected broken ankle at Bury on Saturday, but an X-ray showed no fracture.

Meanwhile, Hodgson is still hopeful of adding a striker to his ranks and will be taking a look at Roland Stevko after the Slovakian forward agreed to a trial.

The 22-year-old has a prolific record in the Slovakian top flight and scored 10 goals in 21 starts for Ruzomberok last season. Stevko topped the Slovakian scoring charts in 2003/04 with 17 goals in 33 games. He is ineligible to play for the reserves on Monday.

* Martin Scott believes Chris Llewellyn is starting to show Hartlepool what he is all about.

The four-times capped Wales international has yet to make a big impression since his summer move from Wrexham, as Pool have stuttered along this season.

Tomorrow's game with MK Dons sees Pool still searching for their first home win of the season at the seventh League One attempt in a game they can ill-afford to lose.

But, fresh from an impressive display in the LDV Vans Trophy on Tuesday Scott is confident of victory.

Llewellyn started on the right flank in midweek and Scott admitted: "He played really well and showed more confidence in a position he looked happy in."

Read more about the Quakers here.