Ben Sheaf is making good progress in his bid to recover from a hamstring tear, and Coventry City’s FA Cup run has provided an added incentive to return ahead of schedule.
The initial prognosis was that the influential Sky Blues midfielder would be out for six to eight weeks. However, four weeks in and the player is “back on the grass” at Ryton, according to manager Mark Robins, who admits the quarter-final draw against Wolves is proving to be a bit of a target for the former Arsenal prospect as he steps up his rehabilitation.
“Ben is on the grass, so he won’t be too long now,” said the City boss, speaking in today’s pre-match press conference ahead of Friday night’s trip to West Bromwich Albion.
Asked if the 26-year-old is head of scheduled, he added: “I think really with Ben we have just got to go on his symptoms and he has got to be honest, and after the Cup draw I think everyone will be trying to fight to get fit for this game anyway. I am not belittling any of the other games because they want to be fit for every game, but a game against Premier League opponents doesn’t come around very often, especially in a meaningful way in an FA Cup quarter-final.
“You don’t get too many opportunities to do that. So I think everyone will be fighting to be there or thereabouts. Whether they make it or not remains to be seen but they won’t leave any stone unturned, that’s for sure.”
