Sittingbourne boss Nick Davis has been boosted by the return of Dan Parkinson after a year out injured.

Parkinson has recovered from two knee operations and made his return as a late substitute in Bourne's 2-1 defeat at Whyteleafe on Saturday.

Brickies will tread carefully with the utility man but are pleased to have him back at a time when the absence of key players has seen them slip to six straight defeats in Bostik South.

Davis said: “It’s been a long road back for Dan. He had one knee operation but felt it again and had to have a second op.

“It’s taken him time to build the knee back up and he’s not in a position to play 90 minutes yet. We need to ease him in and manage him right. He’s a good player and will be a good addition if we can get him up to speed.”

It’s no coincidence that Brickies’ losing run has come at a time when they’ve had people missing.

John Coker has served a three-match ban, Tom Loynes, Chris Elliott and Ollie Brown remain injured, while work commitments have restricted Kane Phillip’s involvement and Gil Carvalho has joined Phoenix.

With Sittingbourne down to 13th, Davis is hoping to strengthen before Saturday’s trip to sixth-placed Carshalton and Tuesday’s rearranged home game against Guernsey – but knows it won’t be easy.

He said: “We work hard to bring our players in. It’s not always easy for us to recruit and when you lose players it’s difficult to replace them quickly.

“It’s hurt us being without all these players and we’ve played four of the top five in that time, so the fixtures haven’t been kind.

“We need to dust ourselves off and maybe bring in one or two and go again."

Kane Rowland scored Sittingbourne’s 72nd-minute consolation at Whyteleafe after Scott Day and Tom Hutchings put the hosts in charge.

The New Year’s Day home game against Ramsgate was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.