Boss Roy Keane says he will treat Argentinian midfielder Luciano Civelli like any other member of the squad when he returns for pre-season training at the end of June. The 23-year-old has been out of action since March 2009 with a serious knee ligament injury.

Keane says that Civelli, who is currently back home in Argentina, won’t be treated with kid gloves when he returns: “The plan is that Luca will join in with us in pre-season on June 28th. He’ll join in with the rest of the group, there won’t be any cotton wool wrapped around the boy.

“I’ve spoken to [fitness coach] Antonio Gomez and the medical staff have been in touch with people who are looking after him in Argentina and he’s coming on leaps and bounds.

“Coming back for pre-season and playing top Championship football, 46 matches, that’s the big question mark. But we’re quite happy and he’s coming back pre-season and he’ll be here on the 28th like all the other players.”

The Blues boss says the pre-season period will be crucial for the £1.1 million signing from Banfield: “Making progress in the gym and out running is all well and good but on top of that football is about holding people off, twisting and turning and we won’t know about that until pre-season. It’s a big pre-season for a lot of players, but particularly Luca.

“The boy’s not played football for 18 months, so don’t think I’m just going to be depending on Luca stepping straight back into the first team.”

Keane admits that the left side, both midfield and full-back, has been a problem and that he has “one or two” targets in mind and was due to speak to a manager regarding a potential signing at the end of last week.

Civelli made eight appearances for the Blues after joining the club in January 2009, suffering his injury in the home game against Burnley two months later.

Photo: Action Images

bedsitfc added 09:18 - May 7 will be nice to have him back, looked quite good before injury
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dreblue added 09:35 - May 7 It would be GREAT to have him back, he was looking promising. Natural left foot and not affraid to take the full back on and deliver a good cross.... Just what we need! (even tho he does look wierd when running, hump back) :-) On another subject... Marlon Harewood anyone?! Free Agent......
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Suffolk_n_Good added 09:42 - May 7 Agree, would be great to see him back to his pre-injury form, I thought he gave us the left wing option we had previously been lacking.
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brogansnose added 09:43 - May 7 He was starting to settle into English football before the injury but he still had a long way to go in terms of style of play and pace of the game, which is normal for most foreign players. Eighteen months out is a long time with a career threatening injury and there is a big question mark whether we will ever see the best of him. Of what we did see of him, he was certainly a trier and he did build up a good rapport with the fans because of that. I do feel that some on here 'big' him up a bit too much which can only lead to frustration as he is a lad with potential which hopefully for us and him he will deliver on. Anyway all the best Luca, you are sure of a big wellcome when you run out at PR and the tractor ride with the thumbs up will go down in Town folklore.

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billbao added 10:01 - May 7 Dreblue - Harewood is a good shout. Experienced player who cold cause trouble to Championship defences. Saw someone mention Jason Roberts on here last week, not playing too often for Blackburn, so could be available. We've really lacked natural width in midfield this year, Keane needs to bring in a natural winger. (Preferably better than Edwards, who doesn't run at defenders and can't cross)

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dreblue added 10:02 - May 7 I wouldnt say that he has been "bigged up" at all. The comments people make about Gio is "bigging" someone up. I would say that alot of peoples opinions regarding Luca purely stand out due to the fact that we havnt had a natural left sided winger in the club for so long, that comments such as natural left foot, good crossing and works hard have become unusual and rare!! A totally agree with brogansnose that he still had some work to do in terms of style, play and pace of the game, but he wasnt far off. Fingers crossed that pre season goes well for him (we still need someone else in).

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dreblue added 10:37 - May 7 2 problems that may come up if we approached Harewood. a) His wages b) Do we do shirt sizes bigger than medium for players. Not sure we are used to having big palyers in our squad!
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Blueknight85 added 12:00 - May 7 Harewood And Roberts? we aren't that desperate boys
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stainless added 12:07 - May 7 Harewood is a bit of a donkey, i would be disapointed if we signed him
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WadeyBlue added 19:29 - May 7 Civelli has been out for 18 Months. He'll be as fat as hell.
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petermorris added 19:55 - May 7 A very perceptive point and expertly put WadeyBlue.
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Tillz9 added 23:08 - May 7 Really hopes he comes back to make an impact. I do have doubts about it after the injury he has suffered though. He looked a handy player when he first arrived. As pointed out before , we are crying out for a natural left footer in our team. For that reason my fingers are crossed!!
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WadeyBlue added 09:17 - May 8 Petermorris - Thanks. It's a gift. Sometimes I amaze myself.
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corshamblue added 10:08 - May 8 Fingers Crossed he's strong enough in preseason and forges a place in the squad in the early games. Just what we need.
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bennyblue added 04:39 - May 9 i assume if hes any good keane will pi-s him off and he will leave us like all the other fairly decent players we had
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