Scarborough Athletic boss Kelly on the return of skipper Michael Coulson

Boro benefited from a rest weekend after their early exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Ashton United, meaning several of their players carrying knocks more time to recover.

Skipper Coulson has been out since damaging his achilles in Boro's opening day 2-0 win at Atherton, with initial worries that he'd be out for over a month.

However, the injury appears to be less serious than first thought, and boss Kelly is hopeful of having his skipper available for the trip to Witton on Saturday and Tuesday's clash at big-spending Buxton.

"I’m hopeful Coulo will be fit enough to play a part but we will have to see how he comes through training," Kelly said.

"It'll be so important to have him back, he's our captain and is so integral to the side.

"It's been difficult having so many players out injured so having that weekend off really did help us, especially with a busy schedule coming up."