Nigel Pearson says Kane Wilson still needs considerable time to rebuild his fitness before being selected in a matchday squad after recovering from a knee injury that he'll have to manage for the rest of his career.
The 22-year-old summer signing from Forest Green Rovers has endured a frustrating start to life at Bristol City with injury limiting him to just four substitute Championship appearances. Wilson hasn't featured since the defeat against QPR on October 1 after being forced to undergo surgery.
The right wing-back made his long-awaited return to the field on Sunday, playing 65 minutes alongside the Under-21s in their Premier League Cup victory over Everton. After the game, Wilson shared his relief at being back on the field with a comment on Twitter that read: "Day 125. Felt so good to pull on a football kit again!"
However, Pearson is keen to be cautious with Wilson's long-term recovery plan especially given the nature of his style of play. The ex-West Brom academy player prides his game on marauding runs down the touchline that saw him contribute 13 assists in League Two last season.
When asked whether he's close to selection, Pearson responded: "Not really, just because he's got a lot of catching up to do. In terms of his training load, he's still quite a bit short.
"He's had feedback from the staff today (Thursday) about that. For him to be included in the squad, he's going to have to be a lot more robust and especially with the type of injury he has sustained.
"You can't go into games and training sessions without the right level of fitness, he'll have to continue to work hard. He's worked hard to get back and now he's going to have to make sure he continues to train in a way that gives him a better chance of having a positive impact when he is included. There is still plenty of time left in the season for that.
"When you have been out for a while with an injury, the fact you have to think about things like you won't be as slick as a performer. It's really imperative for someone like him because he's someone who likes to play with freedom and he has to be as fit as he can be and that's the bottom line.
"It's always good for a player to make that first step to make that competitive game at whatever level and the type of injury he has had. He's sustained an injury he will have to manage through the rest of his career now.
"Many players have had that sort of injury and have managed it successfully. He's playing catch-up and for him the frustrations of how the season started after having a positive pre-season it's not always easy to deal with."
Wilson arrived in BS3 with considerable excitement after being crowned League Two Player of the Year. He impressed in pre-season before an ankle injury sustained in the final warm-up game against Bournemouth led to fellow new signing Mark Sykes taking the wing-back spot.
In the switch to a back four, George Tanner continues to impress with a string of consistent performances to cement his position as first choice at right-back. "It's always more obvious to concentrate on the players who are in the side and have an understanding of where they're at," Pearson added.
"The players who aren't in the side or aren't close to being the side or being injured, they have other problems to deal with. Some are psychological, some are physical management too.
"The recognition of players have to be equal to their peers, they have to be better than to force their way back in and make up for lost time, it's a difficult thing. We try and protect players by being as... not careful but as thorough as possible with the rehab, so when they come back it's about them being able to step into it without being worried too much about other things."
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