WES FLETCHER will not be rushed back ahead of schedule by York City's new manager Russ Wilcox.

The 23-year-old forward has missed the Minstermen's last two matches after picking up a hamstring injury that saw him substituted during his team's 0-0 draw with Portsmouth.

Fletcher could return for City at Morecambe tonight but Wilcox, who was the Ormskirk-born attacker's assistant manager at Burnley, does not want to risk a lengthier spell on the sidelines by throwing him back into the team prematurely.

On the possibility of Fletcher featuring at the Globe Arena, Wilcox said: "We are hoping he will be OK because I know all about him and, on Saturday, we missed that bit of pace in behind which he gives you, especially if we are going to play Ryan Brunt as a big target man.

"But, at the same time, it would be a little bit of a gamble to play him because he's been out a few weeks, so we will assess him today. When we get Wes Fletcher back, I want him back for good.

"If that means he misses the next two matches so we have got him for the last 30, then that's how it will have to be."

Long-serving utility man Dan Parslow will definitely be back in the fold, though, after being recalled from his loan spell at Grimsby.

"We've brought Dan Parslow back," the City boss confirmed. "He had a chat with myself and Steve Torpey and made it clear he was desperate to come back to this football club and I'm pleased about that because he's a bright and positive person to have around the group.

"In every club, you need one or two players who can play in a few positions and he ticks the box at right back, centre back and centre midfield."

Ryan Jarvis will start a three-match suspension following his red card during Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to Shrewsbury, while Dave Winfield (thigh) will be out for at least another fortnight, joining long-term absentee Josh Carson on the sidelines.

But skipper Russell Penn is available again after serving his one-match ban, although Wilcox remained non-committal when asked whether he would be back in the starting line-up or resume captaincy of the team after Keith Lowe was handed the armband at the weekend.

"Russell Penn is available so we will have to wait and see whether he is back involved," Wilcox said. "I have only been in the building a matter of days so it's difficult to assess who should be captain.

"They are both exceptional professionals and you're looking for 11 captains ideally, not just the man who wears the armband. You want everyone driving each other on and working hard as a team to put things right."

This evening's hosts were tipped to struggle this season by bookmakers in the summer but currently sit sixth in the standings and Wilcox is an admirer of the job his Morecambe counterpart has done during his three-and-a-half year reign.

"It will be a tough game," Wilcox added of his second match in charge of the Minstermen. "They have been top of the table and are sat in the play-off positions.

"I think Jim Bentley has done an absolutely outstanding job there. They have never been close to the bottom since he has been in charge and are pushing at the right end of the table now.

"They keep improving year after year, which shows his credentials. It doesn't surprise me where they are in the table because anybody can beat anybody in this division and it shows what can happen if you turn those wins into draws because they've lost as many games as we have done, but only drawn one match."

Having watched the whole of Saturday's game again on DVD, Wilcox was left feeling more optimistic than he had been at the final whistle, but with definite ideas of what needs to be improved upon.

"I would like to see us keep the ball more and pass with a purpose not just to retain possession and we probably didn't penetrate enough either," Wilcox pointed out. "But there were also things that were positive and I was more pleased with what I saw than I felt after the game."