Zakuani is yet to feature for Posh this season

Peterborough United boss Gary Johnson says that he is confident defender Gabby Zakuani is completely fit again following a groin operation.

Zakuani, 24, underwent surgery back in May, but has been slow to recover.

Johnson told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: "We've left this injury to its limit in terms of recovery and maybe he could have come back a few weeks earlier.

"But we wanted to be certain the injury would clear up and we now know he's had enough time to recover."

The former Fulham man had hoped to be fit for the start of the new season, but suffered several setbacks in training.

He made the bench for Tuesday's win over Cardiff and played an hour in a behind-closed-doors game against a Stevenage XI on Wednesday.

Johnson has said they are now certain any further complications will not be related to the original injury.

Zakuani is due to join up with the DR Congo squad for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Cameroon on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Johnson has said they have enough defensive cover to deal with Mark Little's knee problem.

The former Wolverhampton player is set for six weeks on the sidelines after being told he needs surgery.

"You need a good squad because you know some players will be out for a certain period of time," Johnson said.

"It's not good news as you never want players out, but at least we're not playing every Saturday and Tuesday over the next month."

Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi will continue to cover for Little at right-back with Tommy Rowe on the left.

Posh came close to securing former Birmingham man Franck Queudrue during pre-season, but he opted to move to Greece.

Johnson has said he is in no rush to add any new faces to his squad.

"We'll always keep looking to strengthen, but we can't just keep increasing the side of the squad ever time someone gets injured," he said.

"Short-terms loans may be the way forward, but we know Nana can play at centre-back and we know Charlie Lee can play there.

"I don't want to bring in too many players who haven't been part of our pre-season preparations and bought into what we're trying to do."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version