Carsley closing on return

Blues midfielder poised to resume full training

Last updated: 15th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Carsley closing on return

Carsley: Ankle knock

Related links

Teams

Also see

Birmingham midfielder Lee Carsley is closing in on a return to full training after two months out with an ankle injury.

The 34-year-old suffered the knock during the Blues' FA Cup third-round clash with Nottingham Forest in mid-January.

The setback came as a major blow to the seasoned performer, as he had slipped down the pecking order at St Andrews.

A spell on the sidelines is unlikely to have furthered his claims for a first-team place, but he is at least set to come back into contention in the next couple of weeks.

"Lee is back to a good level and maybe next Monday he might rejoin the group in terms of training and kicking the ball again," said Birmingham boss Alex McLeish.

"He's been kicking it lightly, doing some running, getting some stamina back. Now it's about getting the sharpness back for him."

Rehab

While Carsley is close to rejoining the fold, McLeish has revealed that Scottish striker Garry O'Connor is still some way short of shaking off the groin problem which has kept him out of action since November.

He said: "O'Connor is a wee bit further away than Lee. He is still doing his rehab.

"He's looking like the incredible hulk, with the stuff he's done in the gym. He's certainly got a lot of work to do in terms of his running.

"He may be back before the end of the season, but it's going to be late in the day, the middle of April perhaps."

Post to your View!

Be the first to post a comment on this story

Add Comment*

Send us your views

Are you a Sky Sports subscriber?

*All fields required, your email address will be kept private