Cambridge United defender Ryan Bennett closing in on debut while Fejiri Okenabirhie returns after hamstring injury

Head coach Mark Bonner has revealed that January signing Ryan Bennett is ‘edging closer’ to making his Cambridge United debut.

The experienced centre-back has been working on his fitness levels since joining the U’s earlier this month, having been without a club since parting company with Swansea City in September of last year.

Bennett was not ready to feature in the 2-1 home loss to Bristol Rovers and he was also not set to feature against Morecambe prior to that fixture being postponed.

However, the 32-year-old has started to make some good progress and Bonner will now have to consider whether or not he is ready to be part of the squad that heads to Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.

“We were able to train Monday and Tuesday, which was good for him,” said Bonner.

“He probably didn’t have as good a week last week as we hoped because he ended up not having a day of work on the Saturday and there was a Tuesday in the week where we couldn’t get outside (because of the weather).

“But he’s been able to put together a couple of days this week and is certainly edging closer towards being ready to play for us. We’ve got to make the call whether that’s this weekend or not, but he’s certainly getting closer, which is really good for us.”

One player that is likely to be part of the travelling party this weekend is Fejiri Okenabirhie.

The forward has not featured for United since the 3-2 win at Wycombe Wanderers in late October because of a hamstring injury, but he is now back in full training and available for selection.

“Fejiri is training really well and I wouldn’t blink about putting him on the pitch now. He’s ready to go and to try to get back into action,” added Bonner.

“Obviously when you’re out for a long period of time, to try to get people fit through games when games are so important is a difficult task. He may have to be patient in that period but at the same time he’s certainly much closer to being ready and available.

“Prior to his injury I thought he was playing really well and got into a position where he could really impact the team – that’s the challenge now, to get him back to that point.

“He was in really good shape when the injury occurred. He played in cup competitions, he’d played parts in league games and started in the game at Wycombe.

“We know that he can be a creator of chances and a scorer of goals so if we can get that out of him then obviously that would be good for all of us.”

Bonner also revealed that centre-back Lloyd Jones (shoulder) and goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov (ankle) have both made solid progress in their recoveries and the hope is that they will be ready to play either later this month or at the start of February.

However, left-back Brandon Haunstrup’s bad luck has continued following confirmation that he has suffered a setback.

Bonner said: “We hope Lloyd Jones will be fit to return and Dimi is close. We expect him to be fit going into February, so certainly those two and Fejiri we’re now counting as back in with us.”

“(Haunstrup) had a bit of a setback in his calf. We don’t expect that to be this month, that will be some time into February. Hopefully we can get him back available in that period of time.”

Meanwhile, loanee full-back Steve Seddon has undergone surgery on his fractured cheekbone and is due to return to United next week to begin his rehabilitation.