CENTRAL midfield duo David Mellor and Mo Fofana are fighting fit and ready to make their presence felt in Barrow AFC’s squad, according to Bluebirds boss Darren Edmondson.

The summer signings have made 11 National League starts between them this season having previously been held back by niggly injuries, while they have not featured in Edmondson’s match-day squad in recent weeks.

Edmondson insists he enjoys a positive relationship with the players and believes they are now physically and mentally ready to come back into the fold in the near future.

In fact, they could receive squad recalls tonight when the Bluebirds will host Chester (7.45pm kick-off).

Edmondson explained the duo’s recent absence by saying: “With both of them, it’s purely been on a fitness basis.

“They could quite easily find themselves in the squad on Tuesday night now that they have got themselves back in good shape and are where I want them to be.

“So there’s never been any agenda, I’ve been quite open with both of them over the last two or three weeks. They knew what was expected and now they’ve got themselves in the right place, the same as Ashley Grimes. They’ve worked incredibly hard to get back to where we want them to be. Mo played the first couple of games of the season, after losing a few weeks in pre-season (through injury), he wasn’t fully fit and that affected him confidence-wise as well.

“He’s taken a little bit more time to get over that, but he’s now worked so hard. He’s got belief back in himself and we’ve spoken to him quite a lot about different things.”

The last four games have seen Fofana missing from the squad list, after he arrived as a late substitute in the 1-0 home win over Lincoln on September 15.

Mellor has not been selected in the Barrow squad for the past five games and last featured on September 12, when he started the game which saw AFC carve out a 1-1 draw at Braintree.

“Mells was the same,” added Edmondson.

“He kept having little ankle niggles which kept him out of certain fitness sessions and he dropped of a little bit. And he can’t afford for that to happen, we can’t get caught in possession in the middle of the park.

“But both of them have worked so hard and I’ve respected the work they’ve put in over the last couple of weeks and now they’re ready to play their part again.

“In the early pre-season matches I thought Mo and Mells looked very sharp.

“Unfortunately for them, they picked up injuries and when they played earlier in the season they weren’t where we would have liked them to be. Now they are, so we will hopefully see the best of them once they are given the chance.

“When players are in and out, you need them to be mentally ready and if they’re carrying their own concerns over their own fitness, etc, then they are not going to play to their potential.

“I speak to them on almost a daily basis on where they are, to keep them informed about things and to keep them hungry to get ready to deliver for us.”

Right-back George Williams is available again after recovering from a foot injury.

Barrow head into the game after recording a 1-1 home draw with Kidderminster and on the back of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Altrincham.

And Edmondson should administer team tweaks with the likes of striker Grimes, central midfielder Alex-Ray Harvey and centre-back Steve Williams vying for starting spots.

“There will be changes,” said Edmondson.

“Some will be to freshen people up and our lack of goals from all areas is becoming a concern.

“There won’t be wholesale changes. The last two performances have been very good, but we haven’t had the end product to win the games.

“So that needs to be looked at.”