Steve O’Leary should have a new City contract waiting for him after returning from Torquay.

The injury-jinxed midfielder was a shock addition to the squad that trekked down to Devon yesterday after playing just one half of a reserve game in midweek.

Like Peter Thorne, O’Leary was hurried back into contention as City try every option to end their current slide.

While O’Leary was likely to get a substitute spot at Plainmoor at best, the call-up has come as a huge fillip to the 24-year-old after a wretched five months with the Bantams.

And he is expected to end the weekend with the promise of an extra deal keeping him at the club for the rest of the season.

O’Leary said: “We’ll see what happens but I am hopeful. The club have been brilliant to me and I’ll be grateful if they give me any time to repay them.

“In terms of starting games, I’m not too sure yet, but I think I’m all right to be in and around the squad and maybe on the bench.”

O’Leary was given an extra month by City to show that he had fully recovered from the broken toe that has caused so many problems. The recent icy weather hindered his recovery but he finally played in Wednesday’s reserve game against Rotherham.

He was due to play 70 minutes but that was curtailed after taking a whack in the neck, although Stuart McCall saw enough in O’Leary’s first-half display to decide he is worth keeping.

“We gave him this month to get the injury fit and he’s proved in training this week there have been no repercussions,” said McCall.

“He came through a good, competitive 45 minutes in the reserves and gave a strong performance. He put a few tackles in and passed the ball really well, as he would do.

“Of course it’s been a frustrating time for Steve but we’ve liked what we’ve seen of him and he’s certainly got the ability to be a good player.”

Joint-chairman Mark Lawn added: “I’m sure we will be sitting down with Stuart and Stephen O’Leary to sort something out after the weekend.”

O’Leary would cover the gap left by James O’Brien’s absence for the next six weeks but, having played just one senior game all season, he admitted the midweek run-out was a major barrier to clear.

He said: “I was probably as nervous as I’ve ever been. You can do all the training you want but until you go out there and play like everybody else, nobody knows how hard it will be.

“But everything went well. I had a bit of a stiff neck but that was nothing. The main thing was that there was no reaction from the toe at all.

“I felt fine straight after the game and there was no problem the following morning. I was pretty chuffed about that.

“It’s disappointing to lose James from the midfield for a while because he’s done quite well, considering it’s his first season. But it opens doors for other people and hopefully when my turn comes I can take that chance.”