Nottingham Forest have received a welcome injury boost with the news Scott McKenna is expected to return to training next week.
The Scottish defender has been absent for more than a month with an ankle problem, having last featured in the 2-1 defeat at home to Middlesbrough five weeks ago.
Reds boss Chris Hughton expects he is still a couple of weeks away from a potential first-team comeback, but is delighted that shouldn’t be too far away now.
“I think it will take him a while,” the Reds manager told NottinghamshireLive. “But we are delighted to have him back next week.
“Because we have a midweek game, sometimes that poses a difficulty - although he comes back into training, we won’t have many full training groups next week because of the midweek game.
“I think he’s going to be back for the early part of next week, but more so towards the end.
“But I still anticipate it will perhaps be a couple of weeks before he’s available.”
As for tomorrow night’s much-anticipated clash with Derby County, Hughton will definitely be without striker Lewis Grabban due to a hamstring issue, while Harry Arter (calf) also remains sidelined.
But winger Sammy Ameobi (knee) and Samba Sow (ankle) are both in contention.
“We’re not expecting him to be out for long,” Hughton said of Grabban. “It’s a very minor problem he’s got.
“We were hoping initially he would be available for the two games this week, but that hasn’t been the case.
“Even when he’s available, we’ve got to make sure we’re not taking any risks.
“At the moment he isn’t available for tomorrow, and we’ll assess him going into next week’s games.
“Ameobi has been training with us, so is fine. Samba Sow has been training with us and is fine.
“Harry Arter is due to train next week, as is Scott McKenna.”
The return of players to training will only add to Hughton’s selection dilemma against the Rams.
His team head to Pride Park buoyed by successive 1-0 wins which have lifted them up to 16th in the Championship table.
Ryan Yates bagged the winner against Rotherham United on Tuesday night, on his first start since coming back from injury.
Manchester United loanee James Garner dropped to the bench for that game, despite making a big impact since his January arrival.
With Cafu and Sow also in the mix, there is fierce competition for a midfield spot, in particular.
“It is always difficult,” Hughton said of picking his team.
“The times when it’s not as difficult are when, sometimes because of injuries or something, some positions pick themselves.
“But on most occasions there are difficult decisions to be made.
“That’s what you want. I would always rather have that level of competition, choices and availability than when your team picks itself.
“It causes some dilemmas, but that’s part and parcel of what we do; you have to embrace it.”
