Nathan Doyle is STAYING with City after his injury proved nowhere near as bad as first feared.

The talented Derby starlet will spend the rest of the season at Valley Parade after an amazing turn of events since he was stretchered off the pitch on Boxing Day.

Doyle left the ground after the Doncaster game in a knee brace, with initial reports predicting that he would face a minimum of two months on the sidelines.

But a hospital scan on Wednesday proved that to be a false alarm - and the 19-year-old was even able to rejoin his team-mates for training.

He was expected to be in the squad for this afternoon's home clash with Cheltenham.

Doyle's remarkable recovery will be an embarrassment for the club's medical staff who had written off his chances so quickly. But boss Colin Todd is simply delighted to have one of his most consistent performers back on board.

"It is great news that Doyley is available again, not just for myself but the other players as well," he said. "We've all seen how well he has been playing and we're very pleased that he is remaining with us for the whole season.

"We didn't think that would be the case after what happened on Tuesday. I was told by the orthopaedic surgeon who initially examined Nathan that it was probably ligament damage that would mean at least six to eight weeks out.

"Obviously that was the bad news that I passed on to the media. And when I saw him going out of the ground with a brace on his knee then you do fear the worst.

"It is embarrassing for the medical people that the scan showed nothing wrong. But now we can keep Doyley for the rest of the season shows how a negative can be turned into a positive."

City's other teenage defender Ben Parker will also be part of Todd's plans until May after the club agreed to extend his loan deal from Leeds. But Todd will not be revealing his decision on Lee Holmes and David Graham until after today's game.

Graham's loan from Sheffield Wednesday runs out tomorrow while Holmes, who would be registered to play at Carlisle on Monday, is still crocked with an ankle injury.

But Parker has done enough to warrant a longer spell with City in his first season of senior action.

Todd said: "I think there's more to come from him. He has had some very positive games and has acquitted himself well.

"He's also the only actual left back in the football club but he has earned his chance to stay on with us."