On-loan Arsenal forward Tyreece John-Jules is back with Town and a couple of weeks away from joining in with the rest of the squad, while manager Kieran McKenna has no new injury worries going into tomorrow’s trip to MK Dons with George Edmundson back in training.
John-Jules, 22, has been out of action since October when he underwent hamstring surgery. The England U21 international had been expected back with the Blues last week having been back at his parent club during his rehabilitation but his return was delayed by illness which he is now over.
"Tyreece is back with us so that’s been good,” McKenna said. "He’s a really popular person around the training ground, so everyone’s been happy to see him and have him back and he’s working on the grass. We hope to have him training with the group in a couple of weeks.”
Quizzed on how long it might be before John-Jules will be available for a matchday squad, McKenna added: "He’s had a fairly major surgery on his hamstring, so you never like to put exact deadlines on it.
"It’s step by step at the moment. He’s working with the fitness coaches on the grass, that’s going well and the first step has to be getting him back into training with the squad, which is a couple of weeks away and from there we’ll make assessments on when’s going to be the right time to reintroduce him into the team.”
McKenna says he has no new injury concerns ahead of Saturday, while George Edmundson is back with the group having suffered an ankle problem in the FA Cup replay at Burnley.
"No, we’re in a pretty good place,” McKenna continued. "Everyone who was available last week is available now. George Edmundson joined back in training yesterday, so we’re in a strong spot.”
The Blues boss confirmed that Australian international central midfielder Massimo Luongo has trained well having impressed off the bench last week following a minor knock.
"I think from a physical point of view he’s had a good week, the Blues boss continued. "We’ve been managing him back in after the little niggle that he had. But he’s trained all week and feels good, so he’s ready to contribute.”