Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil says he will be very cautious in managing the fitness of a key player.
The Cherries manager was quizzed about the return of captain Lloyd Kelly from injury.
Kelly has not played competitive football since a win over Nottingham Forest over 12 weeks ago.
Asked if Kelly was fully fit for the resumption of the league, O’Neil told reporters, per the Daily Echo: “No, he hasn’t been in my ear. He just tries to show me every day on the grass, as they all do.
“All the boys are desperate to play. But when you’re out for twelve weeks, you’re desperate to get back.
“My job is to make sure he comes back in the right shape, make sure he’s ready, make sure it benefits the team and Lloyd.
“So there’s a lot of decisions to make when someone comes back off a longish layoff. There is a lot to consider.”
“As I said when we lost him, he is huge for us,” added O’Neil.
“He’s huge.
“Fantastic player, athletically excellent, good on the ball.
“So, yeah, he’s huge for us. But as I said in the last answer, he needs to be right.
“He’s been out for a long time, takes work, not only fitness work, getting up to speed with football things, your decision making.
“So we need to make sure that Lloyd is in the right place and it’s right for everybody that he comes back in.”
