Town defender Jacob Greaves is delighted that teammate and close friend Conor Townsend is edging closer to a return from a long-term knee injury.

Townsend, who is out of contract in the summer, has played only 10 times in his two years with the Blues and has not featured this season after damaging his anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] on the eve of the campaign during a pre-season friendly with French side AJ Auxerre.

That clash came less than a week before Town kicked off their Championship season, with the 33-year-old’s injury often causing Greaves to fill in at left-back when Leif Davis has been unavailable.

Manager Kieran McKenna revealed this week that the former West Bromwich Albion defender is back in light training having been forced to watch on as the Blues chase promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Recalling the moment Townsend went to ground last August, Greaves said: “It’s an awful one. I remember the game really well and it was horrible. It was such a dry pitch and it probably didn’t help his case.

“He’s back to it, he’s a nice face to have around the training ground. I didn’t even know he was training, he’s been in and out of it. We’ve been on a lot of recovery days so I’ve not seen him out too much.

“We’ll see what his first touch is like and see if he’s lost a little bit of rhythm.

“He’s such a good guy is Conor, he’s from my neck of the woods [Hull] so it’s nice to have a northerner and someone who’s so close to you down here.

“I couldn’t say any more words about how good of a guy he is. He’ll be really important to have back around the group.

“Even as a player, every time I’ve played against him he’s been really solid and a good defender.

“Him being injured has probably meant I’ve had more game time this year so maybe it was a silver lining, but fingers crossed his knee is going to be okay for the rest of his career.”

Photo: Matchday Images