Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom expects crocked defender Andy Yiadom to return to the pitch by the middle of next month.

The Ghanaian has been sidelined with a back problem and has not been involved since the start of the season.

However, Paul Heckingbottom expects the 25-year-old to return to the Tykes next month.

“He has been out a while now and we have followed everything that the specialist has said and it is pointless then for him to be doing things off his own back. He has got a check-list of things to hit before the specialist is happy with things.

“Sedgy has a programme he has set out for Yids. I know he is chomping at the bit to be involved as much as possible.

“But it is dependent on what the scans say, although we are expecting them to be good and them for him to rattle through his rehabilitation programme fine.

“Hopefully, we are looking at a couple of weeks before he is back in training.

“Realistically, with the length of time we have done without him, we want to make sure he is right. We will use the (next) international break to his advantage if we can.”