Harrogate Town duo Max Wright and George Horbury set to head out on loan

Versatile attacker Max Wright and central midfielder George Horbury will be heading out of Wetherby Road in order that they are able to get some much-needed game-time.

Former Grimsby attacker Wright, 24, is fit again after suffering a serious ankle injury in pre-season, just hours after it was announced that he had signed a permanent deal with the Sulphurites.

Following more than four months out, he has gone on to make three brief cameos from the substitutes’ bench in recent weeks, but Town boss Simon Weaver believes he will benefit from being able to play more minutes more regularly.

“I’ve had a good chat with Max and his agent and I just feel that going out on loan for a month would do him the world of good,” Weaver told the Harrogate Advertiser on Wednesday afternoon.

“I think that we’re all in agreement on that. Max is fully on board because he wants to play regular football.

“He needs more minutes to get himself as fit as possible and then he’s really up to speed.

"We are hoping to get something sorted later this week.”

Eighteen-year-old Horbury made his history last summer when he became the first graduate of Town’s fledgling academy to earn himself a first-team contract.

Unsurprisingly given his tender age and lack of experience, he has found himself very much on the fringes of things during what is his first season in the professional game, playing in just three EFL Trophy matches and making two League Two appearances as a substitute.

“George is ready now. He needs more games,” Weaver added. “He’s growing into a man and we want to help him continue that development.

“He’s a player we really like, he’s part of the future because there’s a lot more to come from him.

“What he needs is to go somewhere where he can bang out six or seven games a month.

“He hasn’t played any football for quite some time, so it probably wouldn’t be realistic for him to go to a National League side and expect to get straight in the team - which is what we want.

“So if he has to drop down two or three leagues in order to get regular minutes then that’s what we will look at.”

Eighteen-year-old striker Emmanuel Ilesanmi became the first Harrogate player to head out on loan during the January transfer window, joining National League North outfit Scarborough Athletic on a month-long work experience deal earlier this week.

Weaver’s willingness to allow players to make temporary moves away from the EnviroVent Stadium comes after the opening of the transfer window enabled Town to add defenders Anthony O’Connor, Matty Foulds and Toby Sims to their squad.

The recent return to fitness of the likes of Will Smith, Matty Daly and Dior Angus also means that the Sulphurites’ injury list is now significantly shorter than it was at the start of the month.

Centre-half Kyle Ferguson (knee) and midfielder Stephen Dooley (groin and foot) are the only two Harrogate players who definitely won’t be fit enough to make this Saturday’s League Two trip to Grimsby.