Blues assistant manager Stuart Taylor says it’s a case of building striker Will Keane up and not giving him too many games too soon at present.

Keane rejoined Town on a permanent basis in the summer after leaving Hull City following his loan spell at the end of last season, the former Manchester United youngster having undergone hamstring surgery early in the close season.

The 26-year-old played the full 90 minutes in the FA Cup tie against Lincoln but was left out of the 18 entirely for the Leasing.com Trophy tie at Colchester four days later.

“He’s probably at the same as Emyr [Huws] where it’s a building process. He’s on a process, I don’t want to be vague with it, but we need to do it in stages.

“We need to make sure we’re not going to put him back by doing too much with him too soon. Saturday-Tuesday is quite a lot for players coming back after long-term injuries and Will comes under that category, so we looked at it and it was a little bit much too soon.

“He’s totally fine. He actually trained a couple of days after the [Lincoln] game, but the demands of training as much as we have a high intensity of training, you’re not going to have that risk of kicks, knocks and all sorts, but Will’s fine, and he came through training today and last week.”

Keane, who seems likely to start against the Imps at Sincil Bank on Wednesday, only rejoined the Blues on August 20th with the campaign already underway and pre-season long over.

“He never trained with the lads, he never did pre-season with the lads, albeit he’s done pre-season himself, he’s come back and worked really, really hard, and we’re delighted with how well he’s come through it,” Taylor added.

“But we need to be careful we don’t push him over that line too quickly too soon. It’s about getting as much as we possibly can out of him but being sensible with it and not pushing it too far.”

While Kayden Jackson and James Norwood have made bright starts to the season having scored seven goals each, Taylor says Keane will have a part to play.

“That’s the expectancy of it, of building Will up and not bursting him, so that it’s real competition for places,” he continued.

“You’re talking about three very very good strikers there who can all play as a lone striker when needed but can also play as a twin pairing.

“They’re all good enough to do that and they’re all intelligent enough to do it, they know the roles to do it, so they’re good options that we’ve got.”

Photo: TWTD

Suffolkboy added 17:59 - Nov 18 Guarded, professional and sensible ; keeps expectations under control ( hopefully ) and leads us to believe we've got a true striker being nurtured in to a real strike force to be reckoned with . From the little we've seen this man brings skills and attributes which aren't readily apparent and assembled in others , and his ‘ class ‘ could be a telling factor once he returns to full fitness . It's essential he has the belief from our management team and the confidence to only go forward ,but that necessitates patience and confident understanding support : let's give it ! COYB

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Fatboy added 19:11 - Nov 18 I thought Keane had a good game against Lincoln. He won plenty in the air and held the ball up well. I don't agree that he'd make a good lone striker though. I think he'd do well in partnership with Jackson, flicking the ball on and laying it off for Jackson to run onto.
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bazgammon added 22:10 - Nov 18 Sorry, I think the guy is a waste of space. Can't wait for Freddie to return and Folami is better than Keane. Want a big target man sign that Rotherham beast.
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blues1 added 09:35 - Nov 19 Isnt it amazing how fickle some of our fans are. When he was playing and scoring goals last season, everyone thought what a good player he is. Yet now they think hes rubbish? Ridiculous. The guy isnt anywhere near match fit right now, having not had a proper full preseason after his op on his hamstring. Anyone who hasnt had a hamstring injury doesnt realise how bad they can be. The time to judge him will be when hes fully match fit, not now. For heavens sake give the guy a break. Hes wearing the blue shirt and no doubt, hes giving his all, so just get behind him.

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