Wes Paker will make a long-awaited return from injury in Wealdstone’s Middlesex Senior Cup quarter-final with AFC Hayes tonight.

Boss Gordon Bartlett confirmed the club captain would start after recovering from a hernia problem which has side-lined him for more than three months.

In more good news for Stones there is the promise of a first competitive cameo for Lewis Putman, the summer signing from Oxhey Jets who has been out with anterior and medial knee ligament injuries since pre-season.

"Wes will be back playing but there is a big difference between that and him being match fit,” said Bartlett.

“If we can get him match fit over the next couple of weeks he will be a fantastic addition, it will be like having a new signing.

“Lewis won’t start, but he will be involved somewhere in the game.”

Due to the size of Bartlett’s squad wholesale rotation is not possible, but the fact that this will be the third game in five days with Saturday’s crucial league game with Hendon to follow means the Stones’ boss will have to make changes.

He said: “We haven’t got the biggest squad in the world but it will be an opportunity for a couple of them.”

The re-calling of ex–QPR youth player Stefan Bailey, from a dual registration spell at Dunstable is one option for Bartlett, while others on the bench in Monday’s league win over Hornchurch like Scott McCubbin, former Gillingham man Mark Bentley and Jey Siva could all feature prominently.

“Stefan is good in these sort of conditions where he drives through very strongly,” said Bartlett

“He went out to Dunstable really to get games under his belt, only got a few but he came on Saturday and I thought he was excellent - he really made a difference. It was only the last sort of 10 minutes but I thought he did really, really well.

“Anybody who sat on the bench tonight will also get an opportunity because it’s important to spread the workload around a little bit. We have one or two with heavy legs out there and it’s actually five games in 10 days.

“So there will be changes, but we still want to win it.”

The fixture will be taking place at the neutral venue of Hayes & Yeading FC on 4G Astroturf, kick off 7.45pm.