Will McGowan close to Harrogate Town return, but three other key men remain a long way off

The 24-year-old attacking midfielder has missed the Sulphurites' last two games with a glute issue, but is due to join in training this Thursday morning, leaving manager Simon Weaver hopeful that he could play some part in Saturday’s FA Cup first-round tie.

The contributor of three goals and three assists during his 16 league and cup appearances this term, McGowan’s availability would provide Town with a timely boost following a couple of games without a win.

However, it now seems highly unlikely that vastly-experienced centre-half Tom Lees and the influential midfield duo of Bryn Morris and Bailey Hobson will feature again this side of Christmas.

The expected January return date of the talismanic Hobson, who has already found the net five times since joining the club from Chesterfield in the summer, is no great surprise given that he only broke his metatarsal in the last week of October.

Having undergone "successful" surgery on the affected foot almost immediately, there is now some hope that the 24-year-old could actually end up being absent for less than the entirety of the three months it was initially anticipated that he would miss.

But, the length of time that Morris faces on the sidelines – originally predicted by Town’s medical team to be approximately eight weeks when he aggravated an existing knee problem at Wealdstone in early August – only keeps increasing.

The ex-Middlesbrough man has suffered a couple of complications since going under the surgeon’s knife, and a build-up of fluid inside the knee whenever he tries to exert himself has delayed his rehabilitation.

"Bailey's operation has been successful, so at least we have done that last week and made sure that he has every opportunity of returning faster than predicted,” Weaver said.

"It has been a bit of a waiting game with Bryn. Things were complicated in the first instance by the infection that he got after his surgery.

"That obviously set him back, and then the knee kept filling up with fluid every time he tried to really go through more than just the motions and actually build up his fitness.

"It has been complicated. We were thinking it would be December in the best case scenario. Now we are looking at the end of December.

"He has been a bit down. The lads have been doing well and of course he is pleased for them, but it's tough being out injured and he just wants to be part of it."

Veteran defender Lees, who is still yet to kick a ball in anger for Town having joined the club with an ankle injury in July before tearing a hamstring in training just as he was working his way back to fitness, faces even longer in the treatment room.

"Tom Lees is going to be out until January, we think," Weaver added.

"He is immensely frustrated. Honestly, Tom is someone I think could be in the SAS with the way he looks after himself, the condition he is in and how he applies himself in training.

"He takes it all so seriously, he ticks every box, does all the right things and has just been so unfortunate in terms of the injuries since he came to the club."

Meanwhile, fellow defender Grant Horton is also in the process of working his way back from a hamstring injury, though his return is expected to come within weeks rather than months.