ABO Eisa is ready to share the international stage with his brother – once he finally finds his feet with City.

The winger is poised for his first League Two minutes of the season in this afternoon’s Valley Parade encounter with Northampton.

It has been a hugely frustrating start to his Bantams career for Eisa after three months out with a hamstring injury.

His extra-time outing in the voided game at Exeter was his first since the opening week of the season against Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup.

That lengthy absence also caused him to miss out on a debut call-up by Sudan – the country he left when he was seven.

His brother Mo, who plays for MK Dons, is also in the thoughts of national coach Hubert Velud and Eisa would love the pair to link up for their country.

He said: “I haven’t played for them but I want to at some stage. It would be a big thing for both of us.

“We go back every three years with the family.

“It’s your home country and when you left there as a kid you were a nobody.

“Obviously now me and my brother have become professionals, it’s been a difficult journey but it’s nice for people to recognise you.

“I’ve always wanted to play for my own country. I get a lot of fans message me asking when I’m going to come.

“They were a bit angry as well wondering why I haven’t but I don’t think they realised I have been injured.

“I will do so but I want to establish myself here first before going out.”

Eisa is braced for the biggest audience of his career today – beating the 14,176 crowd that saw him playing for Scunthorpe in a 2-2 draw at Valley Parade in January 2020.

He came off the bench against City in the final home game of last season behind closed doors and scored a penalty in the first pre-season friendly when some fans were allowed back into the ground against Doncaster.

Eisa is set to be on the bench again as Derek Adams eases him back into action after the long lay-off. But he admits it will be a special occasion to get the chance at last to show supporters what he can do.

“I wouldn’t say I get nervous,” he added. “I like to think I’m a confident player.

“The first few touches maybe but once you get into it, I just focus on the football.

“I think there was a lot of expectation on me even in pre-season. I heard people shout, ‘we want 20 goals from you’ and things like that!

“But I put high expectations on myself anyway. I’ll be gearing myself up to go.

“It means people think you’re a good player. I just want to do my best for the team and the manager that has brought me here as well."

Lee Angol is suspended today after his dismissal in the FA Cup “ghost game” but the striker has been a big help in Eisa dealing with his first serious injury.

“I think it took me a while to get my head round it. Lee just kept on saying that it was going to be a long one but I didn’t think so.

“Once I accepted it, I focused on getting back but it was challenging at first. It was good to have someone like Lee there who had been through it.”