Defender set for Carlisle United comeback in Trophy game

Ben Williams is pencilled in to make his comeback for Carlisle United tonight.

Head coach Mike Williamson hopes to include the fit-again defender in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy game at Morecambe.

Left-sided Williams has been out with a knee injury for two months.

But having recently returned to full training the 25-year-old could get an outing in United’s final group game tonight (Mazuma Mobile Stadium, 7pm).

“I think he's trained enough now that he will be available for selection,” said Williamson of the former Barnsley and Cheltenham Town man.

New signing Kadeem Harris could also feature in order to build up his match fitness following Saturday’s substitute debut in the 1-0 win at Salford City.

“I’ll touch base with him and see how he feels,” Williamson told the News & Star. “But yes, I definitely want to see him out when the opportunity is there.”

Kadeem Harris could also get another outing at Morecambe (Image: Richard Parkes)

Williamson is likely to make numerous changes tonight for a game which is effectively a dead rubber – United already out of the Trophy, and Morecambe already guaranteed a place in the knockout stages.

The Blues boss may still need to lean on his senior ranks, given that United’s under-18s are in FA Youth Cup second round action at Barnsley tomorrow, though it's understood some of the youth team players could still be involved tonight.

First-team players such as Jack Ellis and Jack Robinson, who have had little first-team action lately, are also likely to be among those involved in a game between the EFL's bottom two sides.

The head coach says he will balance the need for some players to get pitch time with the importance of keeping some out of the firing line given the crucial nature of United’s league games ahead.

“It’s going to be a really mixed team,” Williamson said.

“Obviously, we've got a lot of boys that need minutes, but we're not going to want to take any risks with anyone.

“We want to put as strong a team as we can, because we want to improve our performances. We want to improve from front to back. So that's important.

“But also, we probably have a lot of tired bodies now, so we've just got to make sure we do it right.”

Carlisle cannot progress in the Trophy after defeats to Nottingham Forest Under-21s and Wigan Athletic in their previous northern group C games.

Morecambe boss Derek Adams says his side face opponents in Carlisle who have spent 'millions and millions' (Image: PA)

Morecambe lead the group after back-to-back wins and just need to avoid defeat tonight to guarantee top spot.

The Shrimps boss Derek Adams, whose assistant is the former Carlisle captain Danny Grainger, is also planning to make changes tonight.

“We’re coming up against a club that have spent millions and millions of pounds recently, they’ve taken in new owners, and we all know the money that has been spent behind the scenes and on the playing squad,” Adams told the BBC.

“They’ll make changes about, we’ll change things about as well. We want to qualify as winners.

“We will change things about, it gives everyone the opportunity and we’ll look forward to the game.”