WARRINGTON Town’s return to action has thrown up the trickiest of propositions.

A cup match against a team from a lower division could already be labelled as a banana skin, but Yellows’ FA Trophy trip to Marske United is even more laced with difficulty than usual.

As if a 270-mile midweek round trip was not taxing enough, they will face a side who were unbeaten in the Pitching In Northern Premier League North West Division prior to the suspension of fixtures and their strike partnership of Matthew Tymon and Adam Boyes have 20 goals between them already this season.

Furthermore, Marske have recent form for dumping higher-ranked teams out of cup competitions.

They set up this tie by seeing off Town’s divisional rivals FC United of Manchester away from home while they also knocked National League North outfit Blyth Spartans out of the FA Cup earlier this season.

“It’s a Tuesday night and there’s a long journey involved, so that makes it tougher,” Yellows boss Paul Carden said.

“We never take anyone lightly, whatever division they’re in.

“Looking through their squad, they’ve got some established players from this level and the one above.

“They’re having a go and I like that. I like it when teams have that ambition.

“We know we’re going to have to be at it as they’ve already beaten teams from higher up.”

Defender Matt Regan is said to be doubtful for tonight's game with a hamstring issue while fellow centre-half Callum Grogan (knee) and midfielder Scott Brown (broken leg) are long-term absentees.

However, Town are likely to be boosted by the return of defender Evan Gumbs, who is yet to play competitively this season after suffering a torn hamstring during pre-season.

It is the latest in a succession of injuries for Gumbs, who joined the club on a permanent basis for this season after three separate loan spells from Tranmere Rovers, and Carden says they must handle him with care.

However, he praised the work of Ben Nutter – the club’s new physiotherapist – in helping the 23-year-old back to fitness.

“We’ve got to be careful as he’s been out for a long, long time,” he said.

“He hasn’t played a lot of football – he must have only played half a dozen games in about 20 months.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re careful with him and we don’t have to flog him when it starts up again.

“He’s got an ongoing programme to maintain his strength but this has given him the chance to get close to where he needs to be.

“There’s only so much you can do being a part-time physio.

“A lot of the time, you have to put the trust in the player to follow the programme through.

“It says a lot about Ben’s due diligence with Evan’s injuries and Evan’s hunger and determination to get back.

“The pair of them have done well together.”