Steve Burr hopes to be able to welcome some of his injured players back for tonight's 'must-win' home game with Tamworth (7.45pm).

Burr plans to give Matty Brown, Craig Mahon, Gareth Seddon and Ricky Bridge every chance to regain full fitness but the Blues boss said he was not willing to take any unnecessary risks.

Paul Linwood played through the pain barrier at Luton Town on Saturday because he was the only central back anywhere near fit enough to feature.

On-loan defender Brown had to be substituted in the 2-2 draw with Southport after a sickening head clash but is rated as the most likely to return along with Bridge, who sat out the 3-0 defeat to the Hatters.

Mahon (shoulder) missed the trip to Kenilworth Road and Seddon (tonsils) was ruled out after falling ill on the team coach and tonight's game could come too soon for both.

Burr said: "We can't take any risks with anybody because we need everybody 100 per cent fit.

"We'll assess everything before the game and see how everybody is but we're hopeful that Matty Brown will be back after it was advised he didn't play at Luton due to the seriousness of the knock that he got."

Mahon came in for some rough treatment from the Southport defenders and it was feared he had broken his collarbone but X-rays cleared him of serious injury with Jamie Menagh filling in well at Luton.

Should he fail to recover in time for tonight then Mahon would most likely return for the visit to Welling United at the weekend.

Seddon has had problems with tonsillitis previously and Craig Hobson is the obvious candidate to deputise once again should Seddon miss out after a good display on Saturday.

Burr opted for a 4-5-1 formation at the weekend with Jason Jarrett, Andy Bond and Nathan Turner performing well as midfield three.

Given the importance of tonight's game, the manager might look to use his wide players in a more advanced role and switch to 4-3-3 but could opt to bring in Danny Carlton and play two up front.

Chester are one place above the relegation zone and two points ahead of Aldershot Town, who host play-off chasing Gateshead tonight.

Victory tonight would leave second-bottom Tamworth at least 10 points adrift of safety and see the Blues leapfrog Hereford United, whose struggles on and off the pitch continue.

Burr was pleased with performance at Luton with his side more than matching the Hatters until a fluke goal put them ahead and two late goals made the final score harsh on the Blues.

He said: "It was a good sign that we went to a place like Luton and created a few chances.

"That was pleasing but I was disappointed in the manner we conceded the other two goals but we'll keep going and be ready for Tamworth because that's another big one."

Tamworth have lost six of their last seven games, including a 4-3 defeat when Burr's men visited the Lamb Ground last month.

Loan striker Matty Taylor struck twice and John Rooney added another in an 11-minute spell put the Blues three up before Matt Godden pulled on back before the break.

Taylor - now back with Forest Green Rovers - completed his hat-trick in the second half and the Blues led 4-1 with 20 minutes left before threatening to throw the game away.

Godden grabbed his second and Richard Peniket netted with eight minutes left to set up a nervy ending but Chester held on for the win.

Burr knows his side must look to pick up as many points as possible over the final eight games and it appears that somewhere between 48 and 50 points should be enough to ensure survival so three points tonight would be a significant step in the right direction.

"It's been like that since I've been here and nothing has really changed," he said.

"We've managed to give ourselves a chance and we've got some games coming up that are must-win games and there's no bigger one than Tamworth tonight."