Paul Simpson says two Carlisle United players are touch and go for the Grimsby Town game through illness.

The Blues manager says a bug has affected the squad in the latter stages of this week.

Simpson hopes the players concerned will be able to face the Mariners tomorrow.

But the manager also admitted there is a possibility United may not be able to name a full 18-man squad for the game.

“There's just a couple of them [affected] at the moment,” said Simpson. “So we'll just wait and see how they are overnight.

“I'm hopeful that they're all going to be fit and available. It just depends what their energy levels are going to be like – because for me this game is about starting with high energy, starting front foot, starting aggressively and we need players to be as close to 100 per cent as we possibly can.”

Simpson said he will give the players as long as possible to confirm their fitness, adding: “I'm hoping we'll have 18. But there's a possibility we might not, and we're just going to have to wait and see.

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“We'll certainly have enough to start the game and hopefully we'll have some good options on the bench to come and finish the game for us.”

Simpson, meanwhile, said he would not use United’s youth team to fill the bench even if he was short of first-team bodies.

“I'm going to continue with the group that we've got available and I think for young players to be involved on the bench, they need to consistently show a level to show that they deserve to, and as we sit here at the moment, there isn't anybody who comes into that bracket, so we'll go with what we've got,” said Simpson.

“I don't like doing it normally, but it's a decision that I've made if we don’t have 18. I've discussed it with the other staff today. We're all in agreement and that's [under-18 boss] Mark Birch as well.”

Simpson said none of United’s injured players are ready to return, though some may feature in next Tuesday’s Fred Conway Cumberland Cup tie at Workington Reds.

He has earmarked that game for a comeback appearance for fit-again Josh Dixon, who is pencilled in for a substitute outing.

He will make a later call on the likes of Ben Barclay and Ryan Edmondson for the match against Danny Grainger’s Reds.

“With Josh, as part of the build-up for him, we're only looking at maybe 15 or 20 minutes, so he'll be on the bench. And if the situation stays OK during the game, then he will get on for that last bit of the game, just to get him reintroduced,” said Simpson.

“So that'll be brilliant for him and for everybody to see him back playing.

“And we're just going to make a call on people like Ryan Edmondson and Ben Barclay. It’s probably going to be too early for Jamie Devitt, and then maybe some of the lads who were involved on the bench [this weekend], they might get involved as well, but we'll just wait and see how the weekend goes first.”