Michael Reed will return for Carlisle City's game today, manager James Tose has confirmed.

Reed scored a hat-trick in the Sky Blues' last match at Gillford Park on December 29 in a 4-2 win over Ashton Town.

The frontman missed last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Widnes' Select Security Stadium, which is also the home of Liverpool and Everton Ladies Football Club, but he will back this afternoon.

City's opponents today (3pm kick-off), Litherland REMYCA, are seven points behind league leaders Whitchurch Alport, with two games in hand.

"They are a team we feel we can go at," said Tose, looking ahead to another away trip.

"They are experienced. They try to get crosses in the box for their two centre forwards. If we can stop the supply, it can quieten them."

City are due to play four Hallmark Security League, First Division clashes this month, but none of them will be at home.

Tose said: "We will be on the road quite a bit in the next few months.

"One thing is for sure, the players will work hard. It's a given from us this season, which is really pleasing from the manager's point of view."

Carlisle City man Mark Graham suffered a serious injury in last Saturday's loss and the club have since been able to confirm Graham has broken both his tibia and fibula.

Following the news, messages of support have been flooding in from the Cumbrian footballing community.

Tose said: "It's been lovely. The non-league community is quite small in the area, so when something bad like this happens, and it doesn't happen often, people kind of rally round. All the lads have pulled together."

Reflecting on the defeat at Widnes, Tose said: "We played some really good stuff at the start of the game.

"After that, it was all our own undoing. We overplayed in the final third.

"We had a small team, so we knew we would struggle from set-pieces. A couple of heads dropped. Before you know it, we are 2-0 down."