Danny Bailey could be back in Weymouth’s midfield for their crunch Dr Martens Premier Division survival six-pointer against Welling United at the Wessex Stadium tomorrow (kick-off 3pm).
The former Exeter City veteran is believed to be unhappy with life at new club Leyton Pennant and is considering a return to the Terras.
Boss Geoff Butler explained: “It hasn’t quite worked out for Danny since he left us for Leyton last month and I know he’s not happy with a number of things up there.
“Mainly he’s been disappointed with the standard of football being played in the Ryman League and he’s also not been impressed with a few things off the park as well.
“I spoke to him on the phone in the week and I know he’s very tempted to rejoin us. He loved his time at Weymouth and really misses it, but at the moment he’s a little undecided.
“I’m waiting for him to ring me back with an answer and hopefully a positive call will come through before tomorrow.”
Getting Bailey back would obviously help ease the Terras crippling injury crisis which saw 10 players miss Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat at Tiverton Town.
However, four of those sidelined at Ladysmead have got a `realistic’ chance of playing against the visiting Wings, including leading scorer Lee Phillips and defender John Waldock.
“John played a full 90 minutes for the reserves on Wednesday,” said Butler, “and as long as there’s no reaction to his thigh injury, then he’ll play tomorrow. Lee is also on the mend following an achilles knock and he should also be fit.
“Of the others, Mark Robinson is now very close to a return although I’m still in two minds as to whether to risk him because he hasn’t played for so long and it’s a similar situation with Jamie Impey who is now over the worst after breaking a toe.
“Those four lads are the ones we could see tomorrow and I suppose there’s an outside chance that Alex Browne might have just about recovered from his hamstring strain.”
He added: “But definitely out are David Laws, Matthew Hale, Ian Hutchinson, Ryan Ashford and Martyn Sullivan and I suspect it will be a couple of weeks before we see any of them back.
“As to what squad we name for the match, well, we’ll just have to be patient and see what transpires. At the moment I’ve pencilled youngsters Nathan Walker, Carl Mutch and John Lamb into my plans but that could all change by 3pm.”
Meanwhile Butler has earmarked this clash as one of three the Terras should win in their bid to avoid relegation into the Dr Martens Eastern or Western competitions next season.
“There are three games that we really should get three points from,” he revealed, “and this is one of them. The other two are Hastings at home and Hednesford away.
“There’s reason we can’t get results at home to Dover or at Bath and Crawley, but if you had to pick three likely targets then Welling at home would certainly be one.”
He added: “It’s not a must-win match in terms of being relegated if we lose because that’s not going to happen. But it’s one of the three I’d expect us to win and the key will be home advantage.”
