Cardiff City manager Neil Harris has provided an update on the fitness of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Lee Tomlin ahead of the run-in.

Mendez-Laing has not appeared since before the new year, while Tomlin picked up a serious knee injury last month against Wigan Athletic.

Both players have played a vital part in Cardiff's season and the Bluebirds have not won a match since Tomlin was forced out of the side.

Ahead of their meeting with Barnsley on Saturday, the former Millwall boss provided fans with some positive news about their potential return.

Speaking to his press conference (via Wales Online), Harris said: "There’s an outside chance [for Mendez-Laing], but there’s no pressure from outside of the group to have him back soon, you can’t rush hamstring injuries as we know. Tomlin is improving and he’s had an injection into his knee which will help his healing process, he’s on the track day-by-day."

In 15 starts Mendez-Laing scored two goals and provided two assists, while Tomlin managed seven goals and seven assists in 24 appearances.

The verdict

If both players are fit it is a huge boost to Cardiff, who have seen the arrival of Albert Adomah offer them more in an attacking sense.

Tomlin in particular has been the driving force behind this team and is likely to play a crucial role if Cardiff are to play any part in the playoffs.

Creativity has been a big issue for Harris at Cardiff, but without two of his most important players their recent run of form is more explainable.