Blues boss Paul Lambert was pleased to see Emyr Huws play the full 90 minutes at Notts County, the midfielder’s first full game for the senior side since the final day of the 2016/17 campaign.
That match, coincidentally also in Nottingham where the Blues were beaten 3-0 by Forest, came at the end of the Wales international’s loan spell from Cardiff.
His move to Portman Road was made permanent that summer but after missing much of pre-season his involvement in the first team was limited to three starts and two sub appearances before he suffered a knee injury at Middlesbrough in December 2017 which required surgery.
Last season the former Manchester City trainee made a couple of abortive comebacks, playing one full 90 minutes for the U23s and appearing once in the first team matchday 18 without making it on to the field for the senior side all campaign.
But this pre-season Huws has played a half at Paderborn, then the 45-minute match against Fortuna Dusseldorf at the Interwetten Cup before a further half-hour at Colchester prior to stepping it up at Notts County.
"That's probably his first 90 minutes in over two years,” Lambert reflected. "It's incredible.”
The Blues boss also had praise for a number of other players: "Idris [El Mizouni] is getting better and better, [Kayden] Jackson and [James] Norwood are playing really well, Danny Rowe I thought was excellent. There's a lot of good things.
"I still think we need two or three to come in to help that group and let's see what happens.”