ALBION boss Jeff Wood will decide in the next 48 hours whether to plunge Jeff Minton back into first team action.

Minton is fighting to be fit for Saturday's home game against fellow promotion hopefuls Leyton Orient.

The Seagulls' midfield playmaker has missed the last five matches with ankle ligament damage.

Wood said: "He can run and there is no problem with his general fitness level. He just struggles when he strikes a ball.

"I need him to be training properly by Thursday if he is going to be ready."

Minton revealed in last Saturday's Sports Argus that he has not abandoned hope of returning against Orient. But he is more likely to make his comeback at Scunthorpe on March 6.

Rod Thomas, Albion's other long term ankle injury victim, could also be back by then.

Wood hopes to have at least one new face in for the Orient showdown after successive defeats for the Seagulls. He is already without the banned Ian Culverhouse, Gary Hart and Paul Sturgess.

"I'm looking to strengthen the squad by Saturday," Wood said. "We miss that bit of quality which Jeff and Rod give us."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.