FORMER Birmingham City and Wimbledon front man John Gayle will make his debut for Evesham United on Saturday, writes Mervyn Collins.

The 40-year-old Bromsgrove-born striker has been brought in by Dave Busst to replace the suspended Richard Ball who will miss both the matches over the Easter weekend.

"John's as fit as anyone but I'm not bringing him in to run around the pitch but to act as a target man," the United manager admitted.

The match against Stourport Swifts is likely to be the only time that Gayle, who signed for played 55 times for The Blues before moving on to a succession of Football League clubs before moving into non-league circles with Moor Green, pulls on a red and white striped shirt.

Although Ball will also be missing at Corby Town on Monday, Busst will utilise other members of his squad to make up for the loss of his top scorer.

Ball's absence isn't the only cloud on Evesham's promotion horizon. Busst has resigned himself to losing Lee Knight for the rest of the season, while fellow defender Stuart Hamilton will sit out the Yate game on April 2 after picking up a fifth caution last weekend.

The manager is also expected to have to rule injured midfielder Steve Duncan out of the next two matches at least but Steven Hands should be fully fit after sitting on the bench at Clevedon.

"Knighty has been told not to play for three weeks following the repercussions of a head injury received at Yate but I can't see the doctor letting him play again this season," the manager lamented.

Saturday's match has an earlier kick-off time of 1pm to avoid a clash with England's World Cup qualifier. The game is being sponsored by Clarke Roxburgh, High Street, Evesham and the ball by Steve Carter.