Jamie Devitt is set to return to action for Carlisle United tomorrow.

The midfielder, back from a thigh injury, is pencilled in to play in the Cumberland Cup against Bransty Rangers.

It will mark a crucial step forward for experienced Devitt in his bid to return to first-team contention soon.

The Irish midfield man has been out for two months.

He has returned to training recently and manager Paul Simpson hopes to give the 32-year-old an hour against United’s west Cumbrian opponents in tomorrow night’s second round tie.

“Jamie has been fine in training, and he’s done all the work to be able to get to a level to be able to come back in with us,” said Simpson.

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“We now need to manage his workload to make sure he’s right to play on Tuesday night, and get whatever we can – if it’s 60 minutes we need to make sure it’s a good 60.”

Devitt has been restricted to three appearances this season since signing a new one-year deal in the summer.

His return will give Simpson an important new midfield option as United head towards another busy run of fixtures.

Carlisle’s manager is likely to give other first-team squad members an outing in the county senior cup game at Penrith’s Frenchfield Park.

He said: “There’s a few lads who need games. We’ll see on Monday, and make a definite decision, but hopefully we’ll have maybe four or five first-team group players who’ll be able to get ourselves through to the next round of the county cup.

“There’ll be a few of them, but not all of them. I want to have the right training group on Tuesday so they won’t all play.

“We’ve got a little bit of an issue with [goalkeeper] Gabe Breeze at the moment. He has a slight injury so if he isn’t available Mick Kelly will go in goals.

“We’re just going to have to wait and see. We’ll count everybody on Monday, we’ll look at how the group that trained [on Saturday] got on, and then we’ll make our decision.”

Ben Barclay is another fit-again player who could be considered for the Bransty tie, while those not involved in Saturday’s squad, such as Duncan Idehen and Sonny Hilton, may be given some pitch time.

Simpson, though, said Joel Senior will not be involved as the right-back inches closer to a return after a long lay-off with a cruciate knee ligament injury.

Senior is back in full training. United’s manager said: “I was hoping he would be [involved tomorrow] but he feels as though he needs another full week of training.

“We’re not going to force Joel. He’s been out for a long time and has to be comfortable in his own mind.

“We did some work on Thursday, some defending work, and he did really, really well in it – he was having to make tackles, blocks, interceptions, doing the movements you do as a defender where it’s not predictable and he’s having to react off a forward player, and he looked really good in it.

“But he wants to have another week, so unless he comes in on Monday and has changed his mind, I think this one will be a bit too early.”