Carlisle boss Keith Curle could hand striker Sam Cosgrove his full home league debut against Crewe.
Cosgrove made his first league start in the recent defeat at Mansfield and kept his place for last week's FA Cup draw against Sheffield Wednesday.
Reggie Lambe is doubtful after rolling his ankle against Wednesday and fellow midfielder Luke Joyce will also be assessed after missing the last six games due to an unspecified injury.
Kelvin Etuhu (ankle), plus midfield pair Jason Kennedy and Nicky Adams all remained sidelined.
Crewe will be without defender Perry Ng as he begins a four-match suspension after accepting a violent conduct charge.
The retrospective charge - not seen by match officials but caught on video - relates to the stoppage-time dismissal of Cambridge's Jabo Ibehre during the 3-1 defeat at the Abbey Stadium on December 30.
Further bad news for Crewe has seen Jamie Jones suffer a setback in his recovery from injury. The midfielder has been plague by pelvic problems this season but has now suffered knee ligament damage in training and will not play again this campaign.
Paul Green has been brought in on loan from Oldham as cover and he will go straight into the squad on Saturday. Meanwhile, Ryan Wintle (broken leg) and George Ray (back) have made their long-awaited returns from injury with run outs for the Under-23 team but are still not ready for first team action.
Source: PAR
