Winston Reid – despite some fears among fans that his absence from the Fulham match may have been as the result of another injury – remains fully fit and could get minutes on Saturday against Athletic Bilbao.

The central defender has been involved in pre-season action but the manager and club doctor are determined not to rush him back after such a long term injury.

And with there being good cover in the position it is not seen as necessary to do so with the season only a couple of weeks away.

So far Reidy has received over an hour’s competitive football in pre-season and is being given plenty of time to make a full recovery.

We were told this morning from a club insider that all is well with the player and that there is no need for anyone to get involved in any conspiracy theories.

He explained on the phone:“It’s been a very long injury – 484  days – and it makes no sense to hurry him back into things. He’s doing ok, and could get some minutes against Bilbao.”