PEDRO HENRIQUES will re-open talks with Darlington this week, with manager David Hodgson hopeful of signing a player he feels will bring a wealth of experience to his young squad.

Hodgson wants to bring the 31-year-old back to the 96.6 TFM Darlington Arena after he impressed on trial.

The signing of the defender, who has played Champions League football for Benfica, would come as a major coup.

"We knew that he was a quality player and we just wanted to see how he fitted in," said Hodgson. "We have a relatively young squad and there's a lot they can learn on the pitch from someone like Henriques.

"He's played in the Portuguese top flight for a number of years and we would be a fantastic signing.

"He still has some work to do on his fitness, but technically, we have no doubts."

Henriques returned to Portugal last week. And, despite offers to play back in his homeland, the defender is keen on a move to England.

"I'm hoping to bring him back and we're just looking at a time scale," said Hodgson. "We're looking to bring him over for a month, but when exactly is something we need to discuss with Pedro and his agent."

Defender Joey Hutchinson is at Lilleshall this week as he continues his recovery from a cruciate knee ligament injury.

The 23-year-old has not played since the Boxing Day draw at Carlisle and is not expected to return until July.

Injury-plagued midfielder Phil Stamp will undergo nerve tests on a back problem this week.

Quakers' play-off rivals Wrexham play one of their two games in hand tonight when they travel to Macclesfield. Victory would lift them above Quakers into ninth spot.

l After nine months of anguish it took Joel Porter around 30 seconds to get back to normal.

Hartlepool United's Australian striker hadn't kicked a ball all season after damaging a knee in the play-off final last May.

He made his return to action in last Friday's win over Huddersfield and will again be on the bench tonight as Pool go to Scunthorpe looking to maintain their five-game unbeaten stretch under Paul Stephenson.

Porter's comeback couldn't have gone any better.

He instantly linked up with Boyd to create a scoring opportunity, before Boyd's dummy gave Porter the freedom to lift the ball home from 20 yards to secure the 3-1 win.

"It was just good to be part of the 16 again to be honest,'' he said. "It came together quickly and felt normal when I got back out on the pitch and Boydy was there.

"I got the first ball, turned the defender and put Boydy through. It felt like we'd never been away!

"Chris (Llewellyn) put a great ball in, Boydy took the defender out of the way with a dummy and it sat up perfectly. I hit it in the top corner and what a feeling.

"It was all my frustration taken out in one shot. It doesn't make up for the last nine months, but it certainly put a smile on my face.''

He added: "We were saying in the dressing room it's five without loss now and we want to keep it going and make sure we keep our run going at home, where we have five more games to come.

"Beating someone like Huddersfield sends out a message to the rest of the division - but this is a strange division because every team is capable of taking points from the others.

"I think that there is a lot of belief and confidence among the lads. Earlier in the season we couldn't string two results together and confidence was being affected. Now we are scoring goals, our game has improved and confidence is high."

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