Palmer, Tavares, Kelly – Coventry City injury and absentee latest ahead of Leeds United

Mark Robins is heading to West Yorkshire today with a Coventry City squad that is almost entirely fit, providing him with a full array of choices as the team gears up for a 3 p.m. clash with Leeds United at Elland Road this Saturday.

The Sky Blues manager is on the brink of having a completely healthy senior squad, with the only exception being striker Fabio Tavares, who has yet to rejoin the matchday mix. Tavares recently completed an hour of play in an Under-21s match against Peterborough United at the Alan Higgs Centre and was scheduled to participate in a match against Birmingham City’s development side today, gaining additional match fitness in anticipation of a potential loan move in January.

In another positive development, Kasey Palmer, who had been sidelined for 12 games with an abductor tear, made a return to the squad against Wayne Rooney’s team last Friday, albeit as an unused substitute. He also made a late appearance against Southampton on Wednesday, coming on for Callum O’Hare in the last 10-15 minutes of the 1-1 draw at CBS Arena and making a noteworthy impact.

Reflecting on his return, Palmer stated, “It was great to be back, and I’m fit again now. I just obviously got to try to get back in the team now, which is going to be the next problem to get in. But hopefully, I can keep knocking on the door when I get the opportunity from the gaffer.”

Wednesday night marked the first instance this season where Robins had to exclude a senior player from the matchday squad due to an abundance of available options, with skipper Liam Kelly being the one left out. Previously, the manager had filled the nine-man substitutes’ bench with development players and, in one instance, even named two goalkeepers for a single match.

Robins acknowledged the difficulty of such decisions, stating, “It’s never nice, never easy to do, especially with someone like Liam Kelly, and you know he’ll be disappointed. But he will just get on with the job and try and force his way back in and work as he normally does. He is an example to the rest of them. And while it’s difficult for him, he will understand and double down in his efforts to get into the side.”