Manager Roy Keane says Luciano Civelli and Damien Delaney are medically fine but now need to step up their performances in the reserves. Civelli has been out for 18 months after suffering a mult-ligament knee injury, while Delaney injured a thigh in pre-season.
Keane says the pair are still a fair way off first team form: "Medically, Luca and Damian are doing well, football-wise they can do better.
"There comes a time when you say ‘listen, your body’s physically fine, now you have to get up to speed’. But if we have to patient with anybody, it has to be Luca because he’s been out for so long.”
Civelli had a quiet game as the reserves lost 3-1 to Colchester on Wednesday, but Keane says his team-mates were partly responsible for that: "The players around him didn’t help him, didn’t give him good service.
"Sometimes you need a helping hand when you come back from injury and a good team will do that. They’ll drag lads who have been out for two or three months along, never mind those who have been out for 18.
"I’m not expecting him to come into the reserves and dominate games, far from it. The other boys have got to look at themselves.”
Keane says the Blues are likely to arrange one or two friendlies in the weeks to come with the next league reserve game at Southend not until October 12th, while Delaney and Civelli will also be involved in the regular training matches at Playford Road.