Carlisle United boss Paul Simpson could have a double boost in time for this weekend’s game – with two players poised to return from injury.

Josh Emmanuel and Ben Barclay look set to be back in the mix for the home clash with Reading.

Emmanuel has been out since early January while Barclay has sat out the last two games.

Both are back in full training and in with a shout of rejoining the squad on Saturday.

“Josh Emmanuel trained fully on Tuesday – trained really, really well,” said manager Simpson.

“He might come into the thinking for the weekend.

“Ben Barclay trained fully [on Tuesday too], and did a run on Monday. Hopefully he’ll train fully on Thursday and Friday, so he’s back into it.

“We’re starting to get some more bodies back available so hopefully they’ll stay fit.”

Simpson said Fin Back’s omission from the squad at Burton for Tuesday's 1-0 win was not because of injury – rather, his keenness to protect the full-back.

“He played 90 minutes at Rangers [in the recent friendly] and then started on Saturday [at Bristol Rovers],” added Simpson.

“It’s more about protecting him because he’s had a horrendous run. But I thought Jack Ellis was excellent [against Burton], he’s given us a real lift.”

News and Star: Joshua KayodeJoshua Kayode (Image: Ben Holmes)

Simpson also gave an update on the progress being made by sidelined strikers Joshua Kayode and Georgie Kelly.

Kayode has been back at parent club Rotherham United as he tries to battle back from a calf injury.

“We saw JJ – he came to the hotel to see us [on Tuesday] afternoon,” said Simpson.

“He’s hoping to be running on the grass next week for a couple of sessions and if all goes well, he’ll come back into us the week after.

“With Georgie we’re starting to build up in the gym again and starting to load the calf with the exercises he’s doing.”