Mpanzu's return to Town's first team won't be rushed following season-ending injury

Long-serving Town midfielder Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu won’t be rushed back into first team action by manager Nathan Jones.

The 28-year-old was absent for the final seven games of last season after injuring his knee against Huddersfield in the league campaign, which saw him have to sit out both play-off semi-final ties against the Terriers.

Although back at the Brache again, the former West Ham youngster, who is just 17 games away from being only the 13th player to reach 350 appearances for the club, didn’t play in any of the club’s warm-up matches ahead of the season which started last weekend.

First team coach Alan Sheehan spoke recently about wanting to get the midfielder back as soon as possible, and giving an update on his progress this afternoon, Jones said: “Pelly is out on the grass, it’s just about getting him back up to speed now.

"It’s been a long time he’s been out, so we’ve got to make sure we don’t rush him and he breaks down.

"We’ve got to make sure he has a real good progression.”