Rochdale are boosted by the return of defender Nathan Stanton for the second leg of their League Two play-off semi-final at home to Darlington.

Stanton has served a two-game ban and is hoping to return to the starting line-up as Dale seek to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit.

Dale boss Keith Hill is missing three players through injury, with goalkeepers Sam Russell (broken finger) and James Spencer (hernia) still sidelined.

Striker Lee Thorpe is also out due to a dead leg and a broken arm sustained on the coach to Darlington last weekend.

Thorpe broke his arm in three places when wrestling a team-mate, prompting Hill to ban such contests in future.

The Spotland outfit have not won promotion since 1969 and have been in the bottom tier of English football since 1974.