Coventry City: Frank Lampard reveals Ben Sheaf, Haji Wright plans for Preston North End clash | OneFootball

The Sky Blues could be boosted by the return of this key duo.

Coventry City boss Frank Lampard will make a late decision on whether two of his injured players will be ready to return to the squad for Saturday’s clash with Preston North End.

Lampard will assess the fitness of both club captain Ben Sheaf and top scorer Haji Wright during today’s training session, after the pair have been back in full training with the team.

Sheaf has been absent from the side since 4th January, while Wright hasn’t made an appearance since November.

However, despite the potentially positive news on that key duo, City will be without midfielder Victor Torp once again, with the Dane still struggling with the issue that kept him out of last weekend’s dramatic late win at Sheffield Wednesday.

Ben Sheaf and Haji Wright could be set to return

Despite missing the last three-and-a-half months of the season with an ankle injury, Wright remains the Sky Blues’ top scorer this season.

Having started the campaign in impressive fashion with seven goals from just 15 league games, he is an integral part of the City squad. After being appointed at the end of November, Lampard has not yet had the luxury of being able to name the American in one of his matchday squads.

But, with the 26-year-old having returned to training last week, there is a possibility that he could be ready to come back into the fold this weekend, even if only from the bench.

When asked about the latest on Wright, the former Chelsea and Derby County boss said: “Yeah, he’s going well, and he’s certainly turned his corner now and is training with us.

“So more than that now, it’s about getting his match fitness up so he’s ready to be able to contribute on the pitch because I know he’s an important player and we haven’t seen him. I haven’t seen him for us, but I know what he is. He’s very close now.

“He’s a contender for the squad and I will make that call today off the back of training and how he feels, whether it’s this week or next week.”

Lampard delivered a similar message regarding the club captain. He continued: “Sheafy’s the same. I’ll speak to him this afternoon.

“He’s probably a little bit ahead of Haji purely because of having had less time out, in terms of his match fitness, so he could be in the squad this week, if not, certainly next week.”

However, there was less positive news on Torp. Lampard added: “He’s had a low-level calf injury, so we’re hoping that this week is rehab and then next week that he’s on the training pitch with us.”

Coventry have a great opportunity to push towards the play-offs

Having picked up victories in six of their last seven games in the league, the Sky Blues have put themselves in a fantastic position to potentially force their way into the top six come the end of the season.

After being 17th when Lampard took over, that run has carried Coventry firmly into the play-off conversation, something which would have been scarcely believable just a few months ago.

They have tightened their backline significantly in that time and have kept four clean sheets across those six recent wins.

Lampard’s men now find themselves just one point outside the play-off positions and, with a favourable run of games coming up on the horizon, they have a fantastic opportunity to propel themselves into the top six.

They face Preston, Oxford, Stoke and Derby in their next four league outings, with all four sides currently residing in the lower reaches of the table.

Collect their fair share of points from those games and Coventry could find themselves in an even stronger position. However, with games against Sunderland, Sheffield United and Burnley to follow immediately, a poor return could well signal the end of their push.

The Sky Blues were arguably one of the second tier’s biggest underachievers in the early stages of this season, but now Lampard has instilled confidence and belief back into the squad, they still have the potential to achieve something from their season.