Sami Hyypia is looking forward to welcoming Dale Stephens back to the Championship after revealing the midfielder is close to playing again.

Stephens has been out since the end of last season with an ankle injury.

He has yet to play for Hyypia but is on course for a comeback with the development squad.

Hyypia said: “He has been in team-training and he is doing all right.

“He needs games under his belt and the DS will be the first stage.

“That can happen quite soon. He has been in training with contact so he is growing in confidence and he can play soon.

“I have seen his quality and he can help us.”

There is still no timetable for Solly March to return as he struggles with a back problem.

Hyypia said: “Solly is doing a bit more but I think he is still a bit away from the team-training.

“He has been out for a long time so it doesn’t happen in a short period that he will get match fit and can be an option for us.

“We'll need to go with him as he feels but he has this stress thing in his back.

"Sometimes it reacts a little bit and we need to decrease the load and sometimes he can do a little bit more.

"I don't think anybody knows for sure when he will be at that stage that he could feature in one of the games.”