By Paul Jones
Liam Cullen could make a shock return to assist with Swansea City’s final push for promotion.
The Wales U21 striker was thought to have been ruled out for the season when he injured ankle ligaments back in January.
But Cullen – who was just beginning to build a case for regular inclusion in the Swans’ starting line-up before he was sidelined – has made rapid progress that puts his return to fitness ahead of schedule.
With the Swans having five matches left in their Championship push to either catch Watford in the automatic promotion places or confirm a slot in the play-offs, head coach Steve Cooper has confirmed that Cullen could soon be available for a return.
The 21-year-old – who would provide a valuable attacking option to Cooper – has returned to training with the first team squad and travelled with them for the midweek victory at Sheffield Wednesday.
“The plan for Liam this week was to get him back into the rhythm of travelling with the group, he was not ready to be on the bench or anything like that for this game,” said Cooper.
“The last thing we are going to do is rush him, but we are accelerating the process of getting him back in a matchday squad.
“He probably could have played 30 minutes for the under-23s (on Tuesday), but maybe that 30 minutes can be for us in a game maybe on Saturday, or Tuesday, or whenever.
“The quicker we can get him involved the better. I don’t want to go on about it, but we are not blessed with attacking options, so to have Liam on the bench would be a positive thing.”
Cullen made 10 appearances for the first team in the first half of the season, but was then injured playing against Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup tie in January after scoring twice in a 5-1 win.
His absence was made more acute after the club lost both their American loan signings Jordan Morris and Paul Arriola to injury, leaving 20-year-old Morgan Whittaker and veteran Wayne Routledge as the only other striker alternatives to the regular pairing of Andre Ayew and Jamal Lowe.
Swansea host strugglers Wycombe on Saturday before their remaining games against QPR (home), Reading (away), Derby (home) and a final match at promotion rivals Watford on May 8.
