Huddersfield Town manager Danny Cowley is hopeful that he will be able to call upon the services of defender Terence Kongolo, attacking midfielder Alex Pritchard and goalkeeper Kamil Grabara when his side host Barnsley on Saturday afternoon.

Grabara and Pritchard both missed the Terriers' goalless draw with Middlesbrough on Wednesday night through illness and injury respectively, while Kongolo has been out for a month after picking up a calf injury in a 4-2 defeat at West Brom.

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It now seems as though the Dutchman could be close to a return to the side however, and may even make that return this weekend against Barnsley, after Cowley told The Examiner: "Terence is back on the grass.

"We are very hopeful he will be involved come Saturday and it would certainly be a big benefit for us if that did happen, with these games coming in quick succession. It would be a real positive for the team."

Discussing the possibility of Kongolo featuring against Barnsley, Cowley continued: "We are confident about Terence's fitness and we are pleased he's been back on the grass.

"If there are no ill effects then it's just about us selecting the right time to bring him back in.

"If we deem that is tomorrow is the right time then Terence will come back in and he will definitely add to the group - both as a player and a personality."

Providing an update on the situations of both Grabara and Pritchard, the Terriers boss added: "Kamil had the sickness bug which has been in the group for the last couple of weeks and which has been far from ideal.

"Kamil has done some light training today (Friday) and we will see how he recovers off the back of that before making the call.

"Pritch has also done some light training today which is positive, and we will be monitoring him. As long as there are no ill effects, he will be good to go."

Huddersfield go into the Saturday's derby 22nd in the Championship table, although they are unbeaten in their last five. Barnsley meanwhile are bottom of the standings, and are still without a win since the opening day of the season.

The Verdict

This is a big boost for Huddersfield.

Kongolo in particular was one of the bright sparks of that dismal early start to the season prior to the appointment of Cowley, so having him back should provide an extra element of stability to the Terriers' backline.

Grabara and Pritchard have also shown that they can have a big part to play for Huddersfield this season, so you can understand why Cowley is so keen to have this trio back in contention.

With Barnsley themselves struggling for points right now, Huddersfield will surely see this as an opportunity to continue their own impressive recent form as they look to pull away from the bottom three.