Carlisle United have been denied permission by Ashley Nadesan's parent club Fleetwood to play the striker in the FA Cup.

While boss John Sheridan said today that his other four loan players can feature against Crewe on Saturday, top scorer Nadesan is ruled out.

Sheridan insists he “respects” the decision of his Fleetwood counterpart Joey Barton, which means United must try and reach the second round without their main marksman.

Fleetwood’s decision will also raise speculation over their plans for seven-goal Nadesan in January, by which time the 24-year-old’s half-season loan at Brunton Park will be up.

Blues manager Sheridan said: “Nadders can’t play, which I expected. He’s Fleetwood’s player and you’ve got to respect the parent club.

“I’m just appreciative that the parent clubs have allowed the other [loanees] to play because at one stage it looked like we were going to be short.”

Fleetwood put no such restriction on midfielder Jack Sowerby representing United in the cup while Rotherham, Morecambe and Sheffield United have granted permission for Jerry Yates, Adam Campbell and Regan Slater respectively.

Another boost could be the return of Hallam Hope, with Sheridan saying the forward is fit to rejoin the squad after injury.

The Barbados international’s comeback will be timely given Nadesan’s absence as United bid to earn £36,000 prize money as well as a place in Monday’s second round draw.

Sheridan says there are plenty of incentives for his side against David Artell’s Railwaymen. “I don’t know whether it will be a boost for [my budget] but the thing about the FA Cup is that magic day, for the supporters more than anyone, and the players.

“If you’re lucky enough to get through these rounds, with the luck of the draw you might get you a game you’ve been waiting for, whether that’s a day out at a Premier League or Championship club, or one of them at home with the possibility of a full house.

“We know financially it could be good for us. We’re all realistic that we’re not gonna win [the FA Cup] but you can play somewhere where the players don’t normally get a chance of playing. And if we can make a few quid from it, even better.

“So it’s massively important we try and get through. On their day Crewe are one of the better footballing sides in the division, but we’ve got to go with our away record and feel confident that it’s a winnable game.”

Crewe, 18th in League Two, are likely to involve ex-United pair Shaun Miller and Michael Raynes in their squad.

Sheridan added: “Most teams in this league are inconsistent, so we don’t know what to expect from them [in that sense] but I do know what they can play like.

“Their manager’s probably thinking like most of us in this division, ‘If my team play to what I know they can do, we’ve got a good chance’.

“They’re a very good footballing side. They’ve been like that for years.

“If we allow them to play and dictate the way they want to, they’ll be a very effective team. But we go there knowing our away form’s good.

“We’ll have a few fans there, and it’s very important we try and get through the tie.”

Sheridan has plenty of personal experience of FA Cup runs, notably with Sheffield Wednesday in the 1990s.

He added: “We got beat in the final, have been beaten in a semi-final, been beaten in a quarter final…but he journey to it is unbelievable.

“I was very fortunate to play in an FA Cup final [in 1993] and possibly we should have won it against Arsenal.

“As a player you can’t beat it. The semi-final against Sheffield United, with a full house [at Wembley]…it can be brilliant for a player, days you never forget.

“We’ve just got to be realistic, and try and think we can get as far as possible.”

Sheridan added that Kelvin Etuhu and Tom Parkes were 10 days to two weeks away from a return -while midfielder Jason Kennedy is close to rejoining training after his long injury lay-off.

“Jason will hopefully join in training in 10 days to two weeks which everyone’s buzzing for - he’s been out a long time,” Sheridan said.

“He’s been doing some ball work and I think he’s just buzzing he’s kicking a ball and joining in some of the little things the lads are doing. As for first-team action – we’ll see how it goes. Things are going really well for him but I don’t want to jump the gun.”

Keeper Luke O’Reilly will not be returning to Brunton Park, Sheridan also confirmed. The former Tottenham and Cardiff keeper joined United on a short-term deal in August but has been away from the club since October.

“Luke won’t be coming back,” Sheridan said. “Things have been sorted out and we wish him well.”