Brighton and Hove Albion stalwart Kerry Mayo could make his first team comeback at Wigan on Saturday.

Boss Peter Taylor says the Seagulls' longest serving player is "definitely in contention" for the testing trip to the JJB Stadium.

Mayo missed Albion's hat-trick of draws over the Christmas period against Chesterfield, Queens Park Rangers and Blackpool with a knee ligament injury sustained in training.

The leftback played for almost an hour in a hastily arranged Reserve team friendly at Fulham last Saturday.

He came through training yesterday and is poised to go straight back into the squad against Wigan, sidestepping the Reserves' Avon Insurance Combination League fixture against Luton at Worthing tomorrow night.

Taylor said: "Kerry trained with us and he looked fine, so he is definitely in contention for Saturday."

Robbie Pethick has filled in at rightback in the last three games, with Paul Watson switching to Mayo's customary role at leftback.

Gary Hart's prospects of being available again on Saturday are not as strong, although the right winger is creeping closer to recovering from a severely bruised leg which has also sidelined him from the last three matches.

Hart was able to train yesterday and Taylor said: "We are hopeful he is going to train with us all week. If that is the case he will be in with a chance. He may have half a game in the Reserves on Wednesday."

The injury Hart suffered in last month's FA Cup win against Rushden and Diamonds proved to be more serious than the initial diagnosis.

"We thought it was a dead leg at first, which would have been a week at the maximum," Hart said.

"When I had a scan it turned out to be a haematoma, which has something to do with the muscle coming away from the bone where it is so bruised. It takes a long time to clear and you cannot do anything on it at all.

"I knew I had been hit hard when it hapened and it hurt, but I never expected to be out for this long.

"I felt good in training yesterday, but I got through a session a while ago and then it just seized up again, so I have just got to play it by ear."

Simon Royce, on loan from Leicester, continues in goal at Wigan, which gives more time for Michel Kuipers to make a complete recovery from a pulled thigh muscle.

More Seagulls stuff at thisisthealbion.co.uk