BARROW Raiders will have to play the waiting game for the return of a number of key players.

But there is some good news for head coach Paul Crarey ahead of the visit by York Knights this weekend.

Raiders host the Knights at the Northern Competitions Stadium on Sunday (3pm kick-off).

Crarey’s men will be looking to get their first league win of the campaign, having lost their opening game of the Betfred Championship 44-8 away to Widnes Vikings, before losing on their travels 23-22 to Whitehaven last weekend.

And their chances of victory against the York outfit could be boosted by the return of Greg Burke after he picked up a knock in the opening league match.

Speaking to the club’s official Facebook page, physio Graham Dawson said: “Greg had a bit of a whiplash a couple of weeks ago from the Widnes game.

“He was a bit stiff last week, but now he has come through, really, really well and was out there training (Tuesday night) so no concerns with him at all.”

Others among the walking-wounded won’t be ready for the clash with the Knights, but there were positive updates on second row Ellis Gillam and wing Brett Carter.

Dawson added: “Ellis has done fantastic with his rehab.

“He’s been ultra professional. He’s still just a little bit off returning, but he’s not far away, so for the coming weeks look for him to be in the squad.

“Brett has been training really well, and I would expect that really soon he will be available for consideration.”

The news was not so good on half-back Adam Jackson and hooker Aaron Smith.

“Adam had a little bit of a calf problem during pre-season,” Dawson explained.

“He was doing really well and had two-and-a-half to three months without any problems.

“He’s just had a slight aggravation this week, so we are going to have to rehab back up.

“He might be a few weeks away before we can get him back into the squad.

“We’ve a little bit of bad news this week on Aaron after his scan.

“He’s been to the hospital and he’s in a splint for a couple of weeks.

“After that he’ll be reviewed by the consultant, and we will know a bit more about where he’s at in terms of return to play from there.”

Dawson also gave an update on the plans for second-rower Dan Toal, who has been out for some time.

He added: “Dan is obviously a long-term one. Since the turn of the year, he has trained unbelievably well.

“He’s made massive progress. We hope that Dan will go into full training for six weeks and then we will see where he’s at.”