Centre back Nyatanga's loan spell from Derby ended yesterday in the 2-2 draw at Scunthorpe United.

Said Davey: "He goes back to Derby and we send him back with best wishes. He's been a fantastic servant for us for the last six months. Hopefully he goes on now and will further his career in the Premiership. He's got the talent to do that. "

The Welshman's Barnsley career ended on a low as he left the Scunthorpe pitch on a stretcher with a knee injury. Davey was optimistic he could be fit for Derby's FA Cup third round tie with Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday.

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"He seems okay. I don't know whether it caught him on a nerve but he lost feeling in his leg. We thought it might be ligament damage but hopefully he'll be okay, he doesn't look bad at the moment.

"Hopefully the injury won't hinder him in the next week or so."

After yesterday's draw Barnsley remain 13th in the Championship. The three Christmas matches yielded three points.

Barnsley came back from a 2-0 deficit at Scunthorpe with Grant McCann scoring in the second half and Brian Howard converting a penalty in the 94th minute.

Referee Clive Oliver awarded the spotkick when a shot from Miguel Mostto was handled in the Scunthorpe box.

Scunthorpe manager Nigel Adkins complained: "Yes, the ball has hit Andy Crosby's hand, yes he doesn't know anything about it and the referee has given the penalty."

Right back Stephen Foster returned to the Barnsley side and Davey dropped Bobby Hassell.

After a first half, described by Davey as 'diabolical', Michael Coulson replaced striker Istvan Ferenczi and McCann came on for winger Martin Devaney.

Davey put on another forward in Mostto when Nyatanga was injured with less than five minutes left and trailing 2-1.

The draw was Barnsley's fifth away from home.

"It's a nice platform for us to go into the FA Cup game on Saturday with a little bit more confidence from the second half performance. We've registered a point in 2008 and at one stage I didn't think we would," Davey admitted.

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