SHAKERS midfielder David Borley will not make his long-awaited comeback at Hull City on Saturday as his mystery injury continues to plague him.

Borley was originally pencilled in for Bury's opening league fixture at Oxford after making a rapid recovery from a close-season hernia operation.

Yet, three games into the campaign, he continues to struggle with his fitness levels and complains of a groin pain which has doctors baffled.

"David's a bit of a concern for us at the moment," said manager Andy Preece.

"He's training okay but in reserve matches he can only last about 25 minutes and he starts struggling with his groin.

"We have given him scans but they are all coming up clear, so it's a bit of a frustrating one for us. He has been back to the specialist again but he can't find anything wrong with him. Hopefully this will just be a short-term problem and David will be back playing for the first team soon."

Had Borley been fit for the trip to Humberside, it is unlikely he would have made a dent in the starting 11, with Preece planning to stand by the side which so impressively registered their first win against Swansea last week.

Only new signing Colin Woodthorpe is expected to break into the starting line-up, with his years of top flight experience vital to Bury's chances of stringing a few wins together and seeing off a typically strong Hull outfit.

"You can't look to change things too much after the way the lads played on Saturday. I didn't have too many complaints about anyone," he said.

"But the pressure is on them now to back that up with another good performance. One win is not enough.

"It will be a tough game because Hull are always tipped to do well. They have the money there and have brought in about 20 players over the past two seasons, so they have a strong squad.

"But they have made a stuttering start to the season and it could be the perfect time to play them. If we can keep it tight, their crowd might turn against them and we have to use that to our advantage."

Ian Lawson is available again after overcoming an ankle injury, while Gareth Seddon is also nearing fitness after finally resolving the blood disorder which was causing his back pain.

New recruit Ian Kilford is also close to match fitness after making a couple of reserve appearances this week.