CHARLIE Wyke is poised for a spot on City’s bench against Blackburn tomorrow.

The centre forward is yet to kick a ball this season after tearing a hamstring in Austria last month.

But he could be in line for a call to arms as a substitute as Valley Parade hosts promotion favourites Rovers.

Wyke joined in a full training session yesterday and Stuart McCall will check how his body has responded before finalising plans.

But he is keen to have that impact available against a side with plenty of physical menace.

The City boss said: “Unless there is a reaction, such as being stiff after five weeks out, then there is a chance he will be on the bench.

“He has been working ever so hard. I know that is not the same as playing games but he looked strong and sharp in training.

“It is certainly an area where we have lost a bit of physicality up front, someone to bring others into the game.

“Charlie scores goals but he is a good target man. Plus, from the defensive side of things, he gives us a bit of extra height.

“We haven’t got a big midfielder, full back or whoever to provide one of the five markers you need at set-pieces.

“Gillingham had a couple of free headers because we are probably one short at the moment. It is an area where we could do with Charlie back.”

McCall is braced for City’s most demanding examination so far and is not fooled by the contrasting starts the two sides have made. He is certainly reading nothing into Blackburn’s two defeats.

“Looking at Blackburn’s squad, if it is not the best then it is certainly in the top three in League One when it comes to depth and ability,” he suggested.

“A lot of attacking players have arrived in the summer. We looked at (Dominic) Samuel last year and tried to get him in January. They have players who have Championship ability and Tony Mowbray’s got a lot of options to pick from.

“We are not hoodwinked by us winning two and them losing two. They will come in with a determination and we need to improve.”

Rovers boss Mowbray is a familiar foe from Coventry last season. He also locked horns with McCall as a Celtic player in the Old Firm derbies during the period when Rangers ruled the roost.

McCall laughed that he could not remember: “None of the green and whites dared show their faces in that era. They couldn’t even go out for a coffee because we were winning everything.

“He is a big gentleman and a real football man. A student of the game is how best to describe him.

“His teams always play good football and he comes up with different systems. We will have no idea how they will play, just as they will find it hard to second guess what we do.

“We played Coventry last year and we struggled for the first 20 minutes. But then we got to grips with it and played very well in the second half.

“Off the park, he is nothing like he was as a player. Then, he was dominant and aggressive centre half, but off it he’s mild-mannered and a gentleman.

“As a manager, he is very different and wants his teams to play football.

“As a player, he couldn’t trap a bag of cement – he could trap the ball further than I could head it. Sorry about that, Tony.”