Callum Ainley and Travis Johnson have successfully made a return to full training, with on-loan full-back Kayne Ramsay, likely to join them very shortly.

Midfielder Ainley has overcome his hamstring injury slightly ahead of schedule and right-back Johnson has worked hard to recover from his ankle injury to bolster David Artell’s options heading into the busy festive period.

Ramsay, who suffered an ankle injury of his own late on in the match against Sunderland on 19 October, is expected to make a return to training before the end of the week.

Crewe have lost the injured J’Neil Bennett, but the experienced Donervon Daniels is making progress in his quest to return following a knee injury.