Glenavon have confirmed summer signings Kris Lowe and Stephen Mallon are “still some way off making returns” from their respective injuries – but goalkeeper Jacob Carney is set to make a comeback in the coming weeks.

Lowe and Mallon were amongst the headline arrivals during a busy summer of recruitment at Mourneview Park, but injury has limited their involvement for the Co Armagh club.

Former Cliftonville and Dungannon Swifts midfielder Lowe has made eight Premiership appearances this term with the most recent coming against Linfield in September, while Mallon has racked up seven league outings.

The 26-year-old joined the Lurgan Blues from League of Ireland outfit Sligo Rovers and has been out of action since October’s 3-0 home defeat to Bangor.

placeholder image — Glenavon's Stephen Mallon. (Photo by Desmond Loughery/Pacemaker Press)

Having his key players available will be crucial to manager Michael O’Connor as he looks to mastermind Glenavon’s mission to avoid top-flight relegation, but there’s no timeline set for the return of either Lowe or Mallon.

Defender Kyle McClelland, who also joined during the summer, is set to miss Saturday’s clash against Ballymena United, but it’s not thought his hamstring injury will be a long-term issue.

O’Connor should be boosted by the returns of Carney and Ben Wilson “by mid-December or before” with the pair continuing to work their way back to fitness.

Former Manchester United youngster Carney made a bright start to life at Glenavon before being forced out of action with a hand injury – he underwent successful surgery to fix the issue.

O’Connor’s men put up an impressive fight against table-toppers Larne in their most recent outing, taking a first half lead before losing out 2-1 in the closing stages, and are looking to further build on home improvements.

Glenavon have won their last two matches at Mourneview Park, following up a 1-0 triumph over Carrick Rangers in O’Connor’s first match by beating Glentoran 3-1.

With three of their next four league matches being played in Lurgan, O’Connor is focusing on the positives as his side look to climb clear of their precarious position.

“Although Ballymena has struggled to put a good run of results together, they have some very good players,” he told the club’s website. “They will be disappointed to have lost to Cliftonville in midweek so they will want to get back to winning ways quickly.

"We can take confidence from our two home wins against Carrick Rangers and Glentoran. But we will need to be at our very best to get the result we are looking for.

"I thought that the lads kept their shape very well (against Larne) and worked really hard out of possession. I think we are not far off being a decent side. If we had been a bit more ruthless in both boxes we’d have taken at least a point.

“We have worked a bit more this week on what we do when we have the ball. We want to play on the front foot and get men forward.

"This is an opportunity to build on the wins against Carrick and Glentoran. There is no reason why we can’t put Ballymena under pressure and create good goalscoring chances.”