JAMIE Walker is having a knee operation today but his return could be sooner than expected.

The City attacker is due to go under the knife but Mark Hughes believes the diagnosis is encouraging.

He said: “We’re hopeful that, touch wood, there are no complications and it’s pretty straightforward.

“The time we’re told he will be able to go back to training is shorter than we thought initially. That’s encouraging.

“I don’t want to put a timescale on it because that can put a little bit of pressure on guys to try to rush to come back.

"We’ll give him the time that he needs so that he recovers correctly and is raring to go when he is back.”

Abo Eisa made a welcome appearance on the training pitch this morning after finishing his treatment – and was applauded by his team-mates.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Jamie Walker posted this picture on Instagram this afternoonJamie Walker posted this picture on Instagram this afternoon

“I think he was just walking round in the sun,” laughed Hughes. “He got a round of applause from the guys because they haven’t seen him out there for a long time.

“That’s encouraging. He’s going to be in and around the group, not training with them as yet but certainly with the physios out there so that’s progress for him.

“It’s still a number of weeks for Abo unfortunately. It was a freak injury, really, and we didn’t realise at the time that it was so significant.

“It’s a shame because he’d looked really strong at that point. But he’ll get back and be fine and we’ll get him going again.”