' City Player close to a comeback '

' Ben Turner '
Probably not this weekend, but Leeds or Millwall. He's been badly missed IMHO. Only problem is he usually takes a few games to settle in when he's been out injured.

15/10/14

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Defender Ben Turner has revealed that he is edging closer to a Cardiff return following injury.

The 26-year-old former Coventry centre-back has not featured since injuring his ankle in a pre-season against Yeovil but he is closing in on a return to the Bluebirds' squad.

His comeback, which would be his 100th league appearance for the club, could come against Millwall or Leeds but he seems unlikely to feature in the home double header against Nottingham Forest and Ipswich.

"I'm back in full training and a reserve friendly will be played either on Friday or Monday," he told Wales Online. "After that I would hope to be available to play at Championship level.

"I was gutted when I was injured at Yeovil. After all the running and hard work I had put in, it felt awful to lose out right at the end.

"My ankle is okay now and I came through a personal fitness schedule for a couple of weeks before I joined in with squad training. I've been back out on the pitch for three or four weeks now."

THANK FECK FOR THAT MARSHALL, TURNER AND MANGA IN START OF THE SPINE.............

THANK FECK FOR THAT MARSHALL, TURNER AND MANGA IN START OF THE SPINE.............

Connolly every time. Much better on the ball than Turner, who has one pass, a hoof.

His hoofing could come in handy.

Connolly every time. Much better on the ball than Turner, who has one pass, a hoof.

While I agree Connolly is a good player, who has been successful with promotion winning teams, personally I feel Turner is a stronger, more consistant defender. He is brilliant in the air and puts his body on the line and blocks all day, and we need a defender that will consentrate and keep the goal tally down.

I rate Connolly, and am sure he will get opportunities, Manga will miss quite a few games and we could get further injuries, but look forward to Turner coming back.........

Connolly every time. Much better on the ball than Turner, who has one pass, a hoof.

But Turner is the better defender. What do you want from a centre back?

Connolly every time. Much better on the ball than Turner, who has one pass, a hoof.

But Turner is the better defender. What do you want from a centre back?

Part of being a defender is not giving the opposition opportunities to score. Turner does this about 40 times a game as he only ever gives possession up. Terrible footballer IMO.

Connolly for me. Turner defends well but gifts the opposition too much ball.

Turner is a top championship defender. No nonsense & gets the job of actual defending done very well.
His distribution could be a lot better but with a bit of coaching & a bit of composure, this could be improved no end.
I'm also a Connolly fan & would pick either of these when fit before Morrison at the moment.

Has he really been missed that much? Is it only me remember his unreliability last season? Connolly has been very consistent all the matches he´s played so far, and I see no reason why Turner would do a better job. Bruno and Connolly all day long for me.

Make him captain too.

Strong squad and tough job for Slade, as you can see above it is hard for us to agree on the best two central defenders, and this is the same throught the whole team, it will be interesting to see the first team this Saturday ????!?

A fit Ben Turner will be a welcome return to the team. I believe he is a great defender although he should leave the distribution of the ball to other team mates.(just 'give it welly' if in doubt)
Connolly and Manga are both worthy starters, so two from these three is a nice problem for the new boss.
Our biggest defensive problems stems from losing possession in midfield too easily.
Whits is the worst culprit of this. He is the last midfielder I would use as a holding player in front of the back four. He should be used behind the front pairing, creating chances for himself and the strikers.
The one position we seem to be lacking are defensive midfielders.
Perhaps this will be addressed in the January transfer window if we keep leaking goals.

Ill be glad of his return but I am interested in how Connolly and Manga develop.

Russell Slade takes change of his first Cardiff game on Saturday when Nottingham Forest visit the Cardiff City Stadium in the lunchtime game, that will be shown live on Television thanks to Sky Sports.

Bruno Manga has been to Africa and back with Gabon so the defender needs to be assessed before a decision on his involvement is made. Aron Gunnarsson and David Marshall didn't have anywhere near as far to travel and returned fully fit so they'll be on the teamsheet I'd expect.

Ben Turner is close to coming back from his ankle injury but he'll have to wait at least another week it's expected before he's considered fit enough for involvement.

Nottingham Forest are joint top and still unbeaten in the Championship, which is complete contrast to our own form.

Stuart Pearce will have Kelvin Wilson and David Vaughan back after illness and injury, respectively, before the international break with U21 internationals Chris Burke and Jamaal Lascelles back from international duty fully fit.

Jack Hobbs has seen an injury setback as he looked to recover from an ankle injury, and will be out for a little longer.

Slade eventually landed the position and even though he might have had some input in the previous games it was the caretaker due of Scott Young and Danny Gabbidon that ran the show.

It's all Slade this time though and after time on the training pitch to implement his intentions and ideas he'll be keen to make his mark at home, in front of the cameras and against his boyhood supported side.

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