Winger back in the frame but Mellor and Leitch-Smith still ruled out

Winger Michael West has returned from illness and could return to the Crewe Alexandra squad that faces Crawley Town tomorrow. With new loan signing Brad Inman also expected to be in the squad, boss Steve Davis has a selection problem for the first time in a while.

The Alex boss is only contending with the absence of his defender Kelvin Mellor and striker AJ Leitch-Smith, who is making progress from the ankle injury he sustained at Portsmouth.

Mellor is having another scan on his knee on Monday to assess how far he has come in regards to his recovery, whilst AJ Leitch-Smith is expected to make a return to light training with the first team squad next week.

Steve Davis told the club’s official web-site: “We are just without two at the moment with Kelvin and AJ ruled out. Kelvin will undergo a scan on his knee on Monday, so we will have a better understanding of where we are with him then.

“Kelvin’s swelling is going down and he is progressing but it is a similar injury to what Pogs had when the impact on the knee has caused some cartilage damage.

“I have been told by Rob (Sharp) that AJ will be back with us at some point next week. He is running again and moving so it is just a matter of time with him. He will have to work on his sharpness and will need some game time because he has missed a fair bit of football.”