Swansea City manager Steve Cooper has suggested that midfielder George Byers could potentially make a return to first team action when the season resumes, while he also suggested Mike van der Hoorn could possibly also feature.

Byers has been out of action for Swansea since he suffered an ankle injury during the Swans’ 3-2 loss at home to Derby County back in February, with that injury looking like it was going to rule him out of action for the remainder of the campaign, but the suspension to the season has given him chance to recover.

Van der Hoorn meanwhile has been ruled out for Swansea since a 1-0 win against Charlton Athletic back at the start of January, after he suffered an knee injury that was set to rule him out for the rest of the season, but like Byers the suspension to the campaign could have given him time to slowly get back to fitness.

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Speaking to BBC Sport, Cooper suggested that Byers will be back in contention to feature for Swansea when the Championship campaign can resume, after he has had the time to recover from his ankle problem.

He said: "If there can be a benefit of this virus it is Byers, he is back.

"If the season had ended normally, he was ruled out. He has finished his rehab during lockdown so has been back to normal this week. It was great to see him, and he will very much be in contention for when we are back."

On the prospect of Van der Hoorn making a return to action at some point before the end of the campaign, Cooper suggested that he is not ready yet but did not rule out the prospect of a potential return at some point in the last nine matches.

He said: "Still some way off (Van der Hoorn’s return).

"Whether he will play I still do not know as he is still going through important stages of his rehab

"It is so far so good, he is working very hard on his own and the reports we are getting is that he is making good progress.”

The verdict

This is very encouraging news for Swansea ahead of the potential return of the Championship campaign, with Byres in particular looking like he could be able to play a key part in their end of season run in, and Cooper’s side will hope he can add some extra quality to the side.

Byres was enjoying a productive campaign for the Swans, having managed to register five goals from midfield, and he was real miss for Swansea during the period he was out of action before the season was suspended.

Van der Hoorn looks less likely to be returning to action straight away, but the defender could well help to provide a real boost in the final few matches of the season were he to return to action – and Cooper’s side might well be needing a boost in the closing games.

Swansea are still very much in the race for the play-offs and the returns of two of their most influential performers during the final nine games could go a long way to determining whether or not they fall short of the top six.