TONY McMahon is primed for his City return in the Checkatrade Trophy tomorrow night.

McMahon has not kicked a ball for Stuart McCall in nearly four months after tearing a thigh muscle at the start of the season against Coventry.

But he successfully came through a 45-minute comeback in the reserves a fortnight ago and has been training without an issue.

So McCall is ready to involve him against Cambridge in their second-round clash at Valley Parade and confirmed: "Tony's been fine and he will play a large part of the game."

City will field a "mixed" team within the selection criteria following their £3,000 fine for going against the "spirit" of the competition for taking off keeper Colin Doyle after just three minutes against Bury.

The T&A understands that half of that fine has been suspended, pending no repeat.

Rouven Sattelmaier, who replaced Doyle that night and started the other two group games, will again be between the posts.

City have vowed to take the much-derided competition seriously with a £20,000 reward for winning through each round.

McCall also believes the prospect of a final at Wembley is a strong incentive as they look to beat League Two opposition for the first time at the fourth attempt this season.

He said: "The end prize is a trip to Wembley and everyone wants to play there. It doesn't matter if you're a young kid like Ellis Hudson or an experienced pro.

"It will be a mixed team but one we feel is capable of beating Cambridge. That's just like the team we put out against Accrington in the FA Cup but unfortunately we were disappointing that day.

"We under-performed and they certainly deserved to win it. Unfortunately that can happen. I don't think we approached it wrong in any way but too many were off form on the day.

"You need seven or eight on top of their game to stand a good chance, regardless of who you are playing."

Cambridge may not see the Trophy as a priority after booking their place in the FA Cup third round with a 4-0 hammering of Coventry – but McCall expects to face a side full of confidence.

The City boss said: "They're on the back of a fantastic result and I'm sure Shaun Derry will want to follow that up against another League One side. It's big in football to get into a winning mentality and it becomes a habit.

"I'm slightly disappointed the game is on a Wednesday. Recovery-wise, it would have been better for us to be tonight, but it is what it is.

"The boys didn't have a game last weekend and we will have a strong side out. Naturally we've got to play five players in our top 11 (appearance makers) and we will do that.

"The team we send out should be good enough to get us through. We had a good session yesterday and we'll prepare correctly. It's about performing right when we are out there."