Birmingham City have still yet to sign Andre Wisdom as of yet but the defender has been training with them over the last few weeks and it looks to continue that way for a while yet.

In fact, the latest update on the former Derby man, as reported by Birmingham Live, is that he might not need to get fit anytime soon.

The focus has instead shifted to 'deeper conditioning' of the player and that means ensuring that he will be able to play more regularly in the future.

Lee Bowyer has been crying out for extra options at the back this year, with the Blues suffering horrendous luck in terms of injuries to their backline. They've seen a number of key players sidelined and it has led to them dropping down the Championship table.

Some of those players, across the pitch, have since returned and that has provided them a welcome boost. In their time of need though, they decided to turn to Andre Wisdom and have been keeping the player with them at St Andrew's and allowing him to train along the way.

Despite being with them for a number of weeks now though, he is still not up to scratch in terms of his match fitness and couldn't play games. It means that he has yet to agree an actual deal with Birmingham and he is not yet officially their player.

He remains with them and will continue to train with them though, having not had a club since leaving Derby in the summer. Now that they have some players back though, the Blues now appear to be taking their time with the 28-year-old and allowing him to build up the capacity to let him play weekly.

While that might mean he won't play anytime soon, it could mean that they have one eye on signing him up to allow him to play in the future on a more regular basis too. For now though, it looks like he will continue to train with Lee Bowyer's side and play for their reserves when possible.

The Verdict

Taking this new approach with Andre Wisdom is probably wise, as rushing him back too soon could ultimately have a backwards effect on his fitness and lead to an injury or lead to him playing not fully fit.

Instead, the club can now look at ensuring he is up to playing in the Championship, to a high standard, on a frequent basis in the future. With the amount of games during a second tier season, it is important to ensure that any player can handle the rigour of 46 games over the course of the campaign.

Considering that the Blues are now taking this approach, you would have to think that Lee Bowyer has the defender in his plans. If they are working slowly with him to allow him to play regularly again, they are surely not doing it for the benefit of another club snapping him up in the summer.

Instead, Birmingham could sign him when he is match fit and then utilise him frequently - and Wisdom has proven in the past he can be a great option at the back, so it could be a shrewd move by the club.