Town boss Paul Lambert says right-back Kane Vincent-Young looked “incredible” having returned to training this week but is taking things slowly with the 24-year-old, whose last competitive senior game was in October 2019. Meanwhile, Lambert is waiting on Aaron Drinan ahead of Saturday’s home game with Portsmouth, while young midfielder Liam Gibbs has been ruled out, and is looking forward to “the cavalry coming” over the Christmas period.
Vincent-Young suffered an achilles injury in pre-season having missed most of last season after undergoing two groin operations.
He finally returned to the Playford Road turf on Monday and impressed his manager: "He was looking incredible in training. I think we’ve got to understand that when you’ve been over a year out without training, mentally that is tough, that is really, really tough.
"Coming back, then you have little pains and things like that. But he trained the other day, he looked great and then we pulled him back out just because of the fatigue factor. So he’ll take a couple of down days and we’ll see how he is.
"His achilles heel was good, that’s not a concern, it’s other little factors with the thigh or the hamstring, calves, you’ve just got to take him out of that equation. Really happy with how he trained the other day.”
Does Lambert believe Vincent-Young, who made a huge impression in his nine games for the Blues following his £500,000 move from Colchester in August last year, will need a couple of U23s games to get up to speed?
"Ideally we would like to get him some game time somewhere or even just having a game amongst ourselves,” he said.
"I think it’s important for him to get that under his belt and if that’s if we can’t get the U23 games. As I said before, a year out is a long time.”
Regarding the rest of his squad, he says there are no new significant problems following last week’s 2-1 win at Plymouth.
"Everybody’s not too bad, one or two little bumps but I think they’re OK. We’ll have to wait and see how Aaron Drinan [hamstring] is, see how he feels.
"Gibbo’s the one that’s out, he hurt his groin the other night in the game when the kids done well [the FA Youth Cup victory over Fulham]. But Aaron we’ll see, we’ll check how he is.”
Freddie Sears has been out since the Hull game on November 24th with a hamstring problem and Lambert says the striker is making progress and could be involved against Burton at Portman Road in midweek.
"He’s doing well, but this one’s too soon for him,” he said. "Maybe Tuesday, we don’t know, he’s missed a few weeks, but Freddie’s doing well.”
"Lambert hopes a couple of his other injured players will be back around the turn of the year.
"I hope so, I think Flynn Downes [knee] and Teddy Bishop [ankle] hopefully maybe can start training in Christmas week or the early part of the new year. Hopefully they’ll come back at the same time.
"These ones have been long term for us, Flynn Downes, Cole Skuse and James Norwood [hamstring] has had a stop-start to the season.
"But you’re hoping either late Christmas or start of the new year that you’re going to get most of them back.”
Gwion Edwards, now joint-top scorer alongside Jon Nolan on five, is another who could return at a similar time, while midfielder Tristan Nydam is still not yet ready to get back to action following the serious ankle injury he suffered in pre-season ahead of 2019/20.
Lambert says those players returning will make a big difference: "It’s like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid sitting there in that hut, you’re thinking ‘When’s the cavalry coming?’ and you need them coming back.
"Listen, as I’ve said before, if we can keep round about it for this period of time and they all come back, then it’s going to be a lot stronger, without a doubt.
"And that’s why I think what we’ve done at the minute has been really good. We’ve not played great every time but in the scenario we’re in and with everything that’s going on, we’re competing really well, and that’s all you can ask for from people is to compete, and that’s what we’ve done.”
Midfielder Andre Dozzell is available again having served a one-match ban last week after reaching five yellow cards.