Blues boss Paul Hurst says he’s almost made the decision that midfielder Andre Dozzell won’t be allowed out on loan, tests having shown that the England U19 international, who missed all but the first 45 minutes of last season having ruptured a cruciate knee ligament, is currently potentially at risk of aggravating his injury.
At the weekend Hurst said he was undecided on whether to send Dozzell out for a spell but says he’s now all but made up his mind.
"Almost and I think with Doz we’re going to have another chat this afternoon and really try and get that situation clear, with Andre as well,” he said.
"And I think would be, our suggestion certainly is, that it’s better for him to stay here where he’s under our eyes and can get the attention we feel he requires.
"Andre’s desperate to play football and I fully understand that and I’d much rather have someone like that than someone who’s like, ‘I’ll just stay here, it’s an easier life’.
"But he’s got to understand that it’s for his long-term future, not September, not October, but I’m talking 2020, 2021 or whatever it is for him.
"And that’s the message we’ve got to try and stress and will have to continue to stress during what will be a little bit of a frustrating period for him. But, as I said, hand on heart, it’s for him and what’s best for Andre.”
Outlining the situation in greater detail, he added: "Basically what we’ve done is some testing and it’s highlighted some deficiencies in terms of his physical make-up that unfortunately bolster the chances of a recurrence of an injury.
"That’s not to say it definitely will but it’s a guide and it’s one that the medical team will use and would make significant calls on.
"And at the minute those results aren’t where we would want him to be and we can see the risk attached to that.
"So that’s a big part of the thinking behind it. We will probably retest him again just to check that those results weren’t on a bad day or whatever it might be, but that’s the thought process behind it.”
Hurst is aware of the significant injury problems the club suffered last season and is keen to avoid a repetition, although some knocks are unavoidable.
"We’ve got Luke Woolfenden, that’s the type of injury where he lands and does something to his knee, you can’t do anything about that,” he said.
"Same if somebody goes in for a 50-50 tackle. Donacien the other night, the knock that he got was an impact injury. They’re so difficult to stop and I dare say won’t be stopped, they’re just part and parcel of it.
"But the muscular injuries, hopefully we can make a big improvement on. We’re starting to get lads back, hopefully we can keep them back because we’re going to need everybody throughout the course of the season. Fingers crossed, we feel like we’re making the right strides in that area.”