Charlie Finney is the closest of Crewe Alexandra's injured trio to a return to action.

That's according to Assistant Manager Ryan Dicker, who reported that the talented 19-year-old has returned to training after a short spell on the sidelines.

Finney, who can play in defence or midfield, has struggled with a calf problem but it is hoped he will be back soon.

Midfielders Charlie Colkett (hamstring) and Conor Thomas (calf) are a little bit further away.

Dicker said: "Charlie Finney has started training this week so hopefully it won’t be too long until he’s back.

"Charlie Colkett is going to St George's Park for a couple of days to speed up his rehab and hopefully he will be back on the pitch in a couple of weeks.

"Conor Thomas just has a tightness in his calf and we are just being careful with that because we don’t want him out for a long period – he'll probably be a week or two."

Dicker also confirmed that Christopher Long was withdrawn due to cramp towards the end of the midweek win over Newport and there are no injury concerns with him.