BOSS Darren Edmondson has been buoyed by the return of Dan Pilkington and is hoping the match-winning winger can steer clear of injury to boost AFC’s league campaign.

Pilkington, one of Barrow’s most able attackers, was struck down by a groin injury during the 2-1 opening-day win over Dover Athletic.

But the 25-year-old ended his month-long absence by returning to action on Tuesday night when he netted AFC’s third goal in their Lancashire Senior Cup tie with Blackburn Rovers under-21s. The game ended 3-3, with Blackburn progressing with a 5-4 penalty shootout success.

Pilkington is on course to break back into AFC’s National League squad, with Edmondson’s men preparing for Saturday’s trip to Braintree Town.

Edmondson said: “Dan’s an exceptional talent and he’s one that we’ve missed.

“The need for us is to make sure he stays on the field for the next two or three months, that he can help us build some momentum and his performance levels can reach where they were last year. Then he’ll win games for us.

“It was important that we didn’t overexert him on Tuesday night and now he comes into training (today), starts to kick on and then looks to get back into the (league) squad as soon as possible.”

Midfielder Alex-Ray Harvey (ankle) and centre-back Steve Williams (groin) were still sidelined on Tuesday due to injury, while striker Ashley Grimes missed out after picking up a hamstring strain.

With Grimes being a doubt for the Braintree trip, Harvey and Williams could be in contention to earn squad recalls at the weekend.

“Both will be very close I would think,” added Edmondson.

“They’ll probably both train on Thursday (today), and if not probably on Friday, so there’s a good chance.

“Willo is probably further away than Alex, that’s more of a fitness thing than anything else.

“But he did a lot of work on Tuesday night and has done more running so we’ll know more on Thursday when everybody’s in and we can get the group together.

“It’s a must for a manager, you want everybody fit. That’s why you try and build as good a squad as you can.

“And then when everybody’s fit you’ve got that cover in positions, and to have a winger like Pilks back in your squad is a great plus.”

Midfielder David Mellor has recently been boosted by shrugging off a niggly ankle injury, and he produced a strong performance in last Saturday’s 1-0 home success over Eastleigh. He played the full 90 minutes against Rovers on Tuesday, when Pilkington featured for just over an hour having started the tie.

Mellor has started six out of Barrow’s eight league matches and Edmondson has urged the summer signing to produce his top form after overcoming injury.

Edmondson said: “Now he’s mentally got over that, he now needs to show his worth.

“Last Saturday he did very well. We changed him late in the game just to run the clock down and Niall Cowperthwaite (the versatile operator replaced Mellor on 88 minutes) is equally as comfortable coming on in those holding areas.

“But I thought that generally, against one of the better teams and one of the stronger midfields, he did very well. Once his fitness levels are where we want them, he’s got an excellent left foot and he’s level-headed when he plays the game.

“It’s just his sharpness that is now missing and he’ll hopefully get that with a run of fixtures.”