Adrian Littlejohn may be thrown straight in for his first league game for 15 months.

Littlejohn has been offered a non-contract place to cover the absence of banned top scorer Andy Gray.

The 32-year-old has over 400 games under his belt, but his last was in November 2001 for Sheffield United.

City made their move after watching him in a private match on Wednesday playing for Barnsley against Grimsby. And judging by first impressions in training yesterday, the striker has lost none of his speed or sharpness.

Boss Nicky Law said: "Adrian has got a pedigree and been about and he's currently between clubs.

"Hopefully he can come in and do a job for us, initially on a short-term basis. But who knows, he might do very well and then we could possibly try to keep him for a bit longer. He hasn't played league football for a while but he's been out in China and since coming back has been training with Barnsley."

If Littlejohn agrees to the offer today, he is likely to get the starting nod over Danny Cadamarteri, who played his first game for nearly three months in the reserves this week.

Cadamarteri, recovering from tendinitis in his knee, played over an hour against Everton but remains cautious over his prospects of featuring for the first team.

Cadamarteri said: "I am taking it day by day. Some mornings it's fine but on others the knee can be a bit sore and achy, although I don't know if that's down to the cold weather.

"I had a bit of a setback last week so it just felt good to get back playing on grass again and in a competitive match.

"It's coming on and getting a lot stronger. I'm still working on rehab in the Yorkshire Clinic so that's helped me.

"The specialist has already told me that after matches it's going to be a little bit sore for a few weeks if not for a bit longer. But as long as I don't have too much of a bad reaction it should be fine."

The operation to repair the tendon across the knee is one of the most delicate and surgeons tend to opt for it as a last resort. If Cadamarteri does end up going under the knife, he could be ruled out for up to a year.

He added: "It's obviously not a road I really want to go down. Having such a long lay-off would not be good for myself or for helping the team.

"I've also tried not training in between matches before starting the treatment at the clinic. That's still a possibility but obviously you need to get some regular training under your belt."

Cadamarteri last appeared as a substitute during the 5-3 home loss to Wimbledon on November 9.

His only goal this season was at Wrexham in the Worthington Cup first round back in September.