Cardiff City manager Neil Harris has said that defender Jazz Richards is 'as good as anyone in the league', as the right-back nears his return to action for the club.

Richards, 28, joined Cardiff in 2016 from Fulham. He made 26 appearances in his first season at the club but is yet to feature this season due to injury.

He's had terrible luck since moving to the club and over the past three years has missed 62 games through injury - he's played just 10 league games since the start of the 2017/18 season for Cardiff.

Now though, Richards is closing in on a return to first-team action and having impressed Harris during an U23 game on Monday night, the former Millwall boss told Wales Online:

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"His (Richards') abilities at right back are as good as anyone in this division.

"Can I be the manager who finally gets him fit and consistent in fitness levels? That’s my challenge with my staff. He’s a great lad and I’ve played against him and managed against him and he’s certainly a talented footballer."

Cardiff have suffered with some long-term injuries over the past season or so - Sol Bamba remains sidelined since March, whilst the likes of Neil Etheridge and Danny Ward have missed big parts of this season through injury.

With Richards soon to return and Bamba as well, Harris's Cardiff options will surely be bettered but it's highly unlikely that either will feature against Nottingham Forest this weekend, as Harris looks to continue his unbeaten start as Cardiff manager.

The verdict

Richards is a favourite at Cardiff and it's been hard to watch such a talented player miss so much of his career through injury.

The fans would love to see him back in action and so would Harris, who'll hope that missing the best part of two-and-a-half seasons won't have hampered his footballing abilities too much.