Kelly and McGeouch step up returns from injury at Carlisle United

Georgie Kelly is back on the training pitch at Carlisle United with Dylan McGeouch also closing in on a comeback.

The duo look set to be the next Blues players to return to action after respective spells on the sidelines.

Striker Kelly is working his way back from a calf injury which has further interrupted his injury-plagued career at Brunton Park so far.

Midfielder McGeouch is also progressing back from the calf injury he suffered last month.

But winger Jordan Jones’ return from his own calf injury looks set to take slightly longer than Kelly and McGeouch.

“Dylan and Georgie trained on Monday,” said Williamson. “It wasn’t too heavy a session but they’ll hopefully [continue now].

“Jordan is another week or ten days behind them, so he hasn't integrated back in yet.

“But, fingers crossed, it all goes smoothly and we've got three really good players coming back in.”

Mike Williamson says Jordan Jones is a little further away from returning than Kelly and McGeouch (Image: Richard Parkes)

Kelly has been out since the August 24 defeat to MK Dons when, after coming off the bench, he pulled up injured and was forced back onto the sidelines.

The January signing from Rotherham United has been limited to just ten appearances in his ten months at Brunton Park so far.

The Blues hope that his return in the coming weeks will herald an injury-free run for the 28-year-old at a time Carlisle need all the attacking reinforcements they can get in the season-long absence of ankle injury victim Charlie Wyke.

McGeouch, meanwhile, has had a stop-start season so far but is edging closer to a return.

“I think Georgie's going to need a bit more build-up, while Dylan has just had a baby as well, so obviously his training load's been a little bit varied,” added Williamson.

“We’ve just got to make sure we do it the right way. We've got a fantastic physio department and S&C [strength and conditioning] department, so they'll give us the green light when they're available for selection.”

Williamson is already without the suspended midfield duo of Harrison Neal and Ethan Robson for Saturday’s trip to Bromley, while Robson is having a fresh hamstring injury scanned.

Defender Terell Thomas will also miss the game because of international commitments with Saint Lucia.

But a boost came on Tuesday with left-sided defender Ben Williams’ return to action after two months out with a calf injury.

Ben Williams returned from injury in Tuesday's win at Morecambe (Image: Richard Parkes)

He scored the winner after coming on at half-time in the 2-1 Bristol Street Motors Trophy win at Morecambe.

Asked if Williams would now come straight into the mix for the league, Williamson said: “In terms of his quality, yes. But, obviously, he's been injured for a while and, in this, it’s the same as Kadeem [Harris] – we don't want to overload and get carried away with what we've seen.

“It's a huge benefit and there are huge positives to take from it. But we've just got to make sure that he recovers and everything's all good and we just build off that performance.”

Recent signing Harris gave a bright first-half performance at Morecambe on his full debut.

Williamson said of the former Sheffield Wednesday man: “I thought he showed the quality when the ball came into him. He held it up well. His decisions when to run behind were good.

“But the pleasing thing is just that he got 45 minutes inside his legs. There was always a plan for him to come off [at half-time]. Hopefully, he dusts himself down and he's available.”