Cardiff City manager Neil Harris has suggested that the Bluebirds could potentially be boosted by the returns of all three of Lee Tomlin, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Greg Cunningham when the season eventually resumes.

Harris’ side have been without Tomlin since the attacking midfielder suffered an medial ligament injury last month, which was set to keep him out of action for around six to eight weeks, but with the EFL announcing the season will now be suspended until at least the end of April that could give him a chance of featuring.

Meanwhile, the Bluebirds have also been without both Mendez-Laing and Cunningham, with the pair suffering from a respective hamstring and a torn cruciate ligament injury, and the Bluebirds would have been planning to miss the pair for at least a few of their remaining nine games.

QUIZ: Can you name the player who scored the first Cardiff goal in each of the last 16 seasons?

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, via Wales Online, Harris revealed that the Bluebirds could see their squad boosted by the potential returns of the likes of Tomlin, Mendez-Laing and Cunningham, with the season suspension offering teams the chance to get their injured players back fit.

He said: "Each time the games get pushed back it changes your plans because certain teams might have players missing.

"At the moment, we’d have no Lee Tomlin, no Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, no Greg Cunningham. By the time the games start, certainly Tommo, possibly Mendy, and maybe even Greg, are all going to be available again."

The verdict

This is a very encouraging update from Harris in terms of the Bluebirds potentially being able to call upon the presence of two highly influential players returning to action for the final nine matches in the shape of both Tomlin and Mendez-Laing, while Cunningham’s return would also offer an extra option to call upon.

Tomlin in particular would be a major player to come back into the squad for the end of season run-in, with the attacking midfielder having been one of Cardiff’s most consistent performers under Harris and helping to provide some really important end product and creativity in the final third.

The Bluebirds would also be really boosted by Mendez-Laing returning with the attacker providing another option for Harris to call upon for more creativity and goals in the final third, while Cunningham who has not really be in the first-team picture at Cardiff this season having been on loan at Blackburn Rovers, will provide some extra depth.

These are really uncertain times for football clubs up and down the country and it will be important that clubs are able to take whatever positives they can from the situation, and for Cardiff, having key players come back to fitness is a major one they could potentially build from.