Hartlepool United v Harrogate Town: Sulphurites hoping for double fitness boost
Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver is hoping to have both Lewis Payne and Shawn McCoulsky available for selection at Hartlepool United this Tuesday evening.
Right-back Payne has missed the Sulphurites’ last six matches with a quad issue, while striker McCoulsky has not featured in either of their two previous games due to a sore ankle.
But, the duo were assessed during training on Monday morning and could be involved at Victoria Park in midweek.
“Lewis Payne has been back training with the lads, which is great. It’s good to have him back,” Weaver told the Harrogate Advertiser following Saturday’s 4-1 home win over Eastleigh.
“He has been training well, but he has only just come back, so it would have been a bit too early to include him in the squad for the Eastleigh game.
“But, his return does help in terms of having good competition for places.
“With Shawn, Tuesday will depend on whether he is pain-free and thinks he can get through it.
“He hasn’t been pain-free yet, so it wasn’t right to include him on Saturday.”
Experienced centre-half Tom Lees will definitely miss out, however, after it was confirmed that he had picked up a hamstring problem during his first full training session since returning from eight weeks out with a calf injury.
The veteran joins goalkeeper Rory Watson and midfielders Bryn Morris and Brayden Johnson in Town’s treatment room, though Ben Fox and Rohan Vaughan are now training again following their respective spells on the sidelines.
Town travel to Hartlepool fourth in the National League standings and fresh off the back of what boss Weaver described as their “most complete performance of the season so far” against Eastleigh.
While the Sulphurites were winning that game 4-1, 21st-placed Pools were losing by the same score-line at Scunthorpe as they slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat.
Harrogate boast a decent record in previous clashes with United, having emerged victorious from six of those 13 matches and drawn two.
But, they are winless in their last four trips to Victoria Park, a run that stretches back to New Year’s Day, 2020.
Their most recent visit ended in a 3-3 draw in League Two back in January 2023.
Tuesday night’s fixture is scheduled to get underway at 7.45pm.