George Ray comes through 45 minutes in friendly to prove fitness.

Centre-half George Ray came through 45 minutes of last night’s final pre-season friendly at Kirby Muxloe and is available for selection for Saturday’s derby clash with Port Vale. Ray captained the Alex as they finished their summer preparations with a 3-0 win and he was handed the run-out to assess his hamstring.

Ray aggravated his hamstring in training but felt no discomfort in his latest run out.

Steve Davis told the club’s official web-site: “We wanted to have a look at George because he had some discomfort in his hamstring, so we gave him 45 minutes last night.

“It wasn’t a high intensity game for him and he is fine. He came through unscathed and it was important to check him out in readiness for Saturday.

“George will train today and we will be doing some work with defensive unit this week. We have had some disruptions with the injuries to the back players and that is why I was keen to bring an extra one in with Ben. I think there is great competition in that position now.”