Danny Devine is poised to return to full training at Carlisle United, Chris Beech said today.

The midfielder has been out with a muscle injury since the latter stages of pre-season.

But the 23-year-old is close to being back in contention.

Speaking at this morning’s press conference, head coach Beech said: “Danny’s due to join in today.

“I’ll be meeting my physio and having that chat with him, whether he does or doesn’t, he’ll be hopefully very near to doing that.”

Devine will give boss Beech a further option in his midfield ranks with the likes of Callum Guy, Joe Riley and Jon Mellish, along with young pros Taylor Charters and Josh Dixon.

Beech also says Zach Clough is working hard to get back to full sharpness after his recent injury lay-off.

The summer signing made his debut as a second-half sub at Port Vale on Tuesday having missed United’s opening three games with a hamstring injury.

Beech said: “He was blowing a little bit [on Tuesday] – he did his extra running after the match as well, and we gave him Wednesday off but he text me to say he was doing extra in the gym, making sure he’s getting back to where he was just before [his injury].

“It’s funny what can happen. A week’s a long time in football and they say fitness doesn’t really change from a physical aspect too much in two weeks, but your sharpness and mentality does.

“He [Clough] was so sharp in pre-season. I was so excited watching him play against Halifax, so it was unfortunate he wasn’t available for the Colchester fixture.

“But it was good to see him out there on Tuesday. It’s just a shame we couldn’t serve him correctly in that last 20 mins because we were under so much pressure in the different way League Two games go.”