Safety first for key duo’s comebacks
COVENTRY City boss Mark Robins and his medical staff continue to take a cautious approach to Callum O’hare and Liam Kelly’s return to firstteam football.
Both players are back out on the grass at Ryton, with skipper and central midfielder Kelly slightly ahead of O’hare in terms of their recoveries from serious hamstring tears.
It had been hoped that both would be back in contention for today’s CBS Arena clash with Vincent Kompany’s Burnley but they’ve been ruled out, with both requiring more time to build up the strength in their leg muscles.
Both players have been greatly missed so far this season – O’hare for his attacking flair and incredible work-rate in and out of possession, and Kelly for his calming influence and experience, particularly at a time when Gustavo Hamer is suspended for four games.
Asked for an update on O’hare’s progress, Robins said: “He’s doing OK and, as you’d expect, working really hard to try to get himself back into contention as quickly as possible without putting himself at risk.”
The club put out pictures of the 24-year-old doing drills on his own this week. Asked if full contact training with the rest of the team is the next step for the former Aston Villa man, the manager said: “Yes, that’s the plan, the next stage for him.”
As for his 32-year-old captain, he said: “It’s the same with Liam, he’s working hard and doing all the bits. He’s in full training and just a matter of getting the work into him to make sure that he’s ready to go. But he’s going to need a little more yet.”
Asked if he’ll need a run out in the Under-21s development squad before returning to firstteam contention, Robins said: “That will be potentially what happens as well as training, so there’s a process that he’s going through and we’ll continue along that path.”
City have no other injury issues at the moment, with the City boss adding: “Fingers crossed everyone else is OK.”