Manager Keith Curle has welcomed the return of influential Danny Grainger for the final dozen games of Carlisle United's promotion push - saying the captain is "desperate" to be involved.

Grainger is back in the squad having been out since December with a knee injury, and his return is timely as the Blues prepare for tomorrow's massive top-three clash with Plymouth.

The Cumbrian reappeared on Tuesday night at Cheltenham, where he was an unused substitute for United's 1-0 defeat.

Curle would not be drawn on whether Grainger would be deemed fit enough to start at Home Park tomorrow, suggesting he was included in Tuesday's 18-man squad slightly ahead of schedule.

But he said he welcomes Grainger's determination to play a big part in United's run-in.

The Blues boss said: "I think the ideal scenario would have been not to include him [on Tuesday], but we are missing a big character in Michael Raynes, who would have relished those conditions.

"And it was important to get Danny back involved in the group, in the changing room.

"There was a temptation to put him on for the last few minutes at Cheltenham. But the best thing is, the kid's desperate to get involved, desperate to get on the park, and that's what you want."

Grainger was unavailable for 13 games after suffering the injury at Luton nearly three months ago.

His absence, after that 1-1 draw, deprived Curle of a left-back who had scored seven goals and also contributed several assists during United's rise to the automatic promotion places.

His comeback is also timely because fellow defender Raynes will miss at least the next three weeks with a calf injury, frontman Shaun Miller also out with a knee problem for a similar period.

They join Jason Kennedy (groin) on the sidelines for a key stage of Carlisle's season.

The rest of Curle's squad are heading for Plymouth today having been based in Bristol for the last two days.

The manager said the club's owners personally paid for the extended stay in the south-west following the Cheltenham game.

Curle said it is vital his squad remain upbeat despite their latest injury blows, and repeated his claim that the poor standard of Cheltenham's pitch - which he described as a "dump" - had a major influence on Tuesday's outcome.

Better playing conditions will be expected at Argyle tomorrow, with the Blues hoping to close the second-placed Pilgrims' four-point lead over the Cumbrians.

Carlisle are two points above the play-off places, although fourth-placed Portsmouth play their game in hand at Crawley in four days' time.

Curle said: "[On Tuesday] I had a changing room full of disappointed players. They knew they were beaten by the conditions and beaten by the dump they were playing on.

"Fortune hasn't gone our way. We've lost some big players at times when it's been one in, one out.

"You get Mike Jones back, and Jason Kennedy goes out. You get Danny Grainger back and lose Michael Raynes. But what we're looking for now is to come together, stay together, and keep the beliefs that we've got that we're a good team, and there's a reason why we are where we are, and it's not because of playing on pitches like Tuesday's."

Curle could make further changes tomorrow, having brought James Bailey and George Waring into his side at Cheltenham. John O'Sullivan will be among those pushing for a recall.

Plymouth boss Derek Adams, whose team are winless in four, will check on David Fox (ankle), while Gary Miller, Connor Smith, David Ijaha and Paul-Arnold Garita are ruled out.

United's fans, meanwhile, are facing the longest trip of the campaign tomorrow with about 250 Blues followers expected to make the 779-mile round trip.