Hartlepool United’s on-loan goalkeeper Max Merrick has returned to training ahead of the team’s home match against Eastleigh on Tuesday evening. Merrick, an England Under-20 international who is on a season-long loan from Chelsea, impressed during the early stages of the season with strong performances in victories over Barrow and Aldershot Town.

Merrick missed last weekend’s fixture against Sutton United after sustaining a thigh injury. Following the injury, he returned to Chelsea for further medical assessment, taking advantage of the club’s advanced facilities to undergo thorough testing. Having completed the evaluations, Merrick rejoined Hartlepool’s squad and participated in training on Monday.

“We are cautiously optimistic,” Hartlepool manager Lee Clark said. “Max has had all his tests done at Chelsea, and with the facilities they have, we allowed that to happen while he was on loan. He’s back now and training with us, which is a significant boost. I want to stress that Nathan Fisher performed well in Max’s absence against Sutton, but since coming in, Max has been outstanding.”

Clark also provided an update on winger Jack Nolan, who has been sidelined for nearly two weeks. “The maximum we’d expect from Jack is a spot on the bench and some minutes towards the end of the game,” Clark noted.

In addition to team news, a two-minute silence is scheduled to take place at Victoria Park before kickoff in memory of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough. The two officers were tragically killed in an incident on the A66 last weekend. PC Blades had connections to youth football in the area, having been involved with FC Hartlepool and Seaton Carew FC.