Bristol City defender Bradley Orr is a step closer to making a Championship comeback after playing his first game in more than a month.

Orr, injured in City's 3-2 win at Barnsley on October 24, has since been forced to sit out games against Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United.

But the Achilles problem which caused his calf muscle to tighten has now cleared up and the right-back returned to full-time training last week.

And Orr could be available for selection for Saturday's home game against Roy Keane's Ipswich Town after coming through an hour-long match at the club's Failand training ground.

Orr was scheduled to play for City's reserve team in a Gloucestershire Challenge Trophy quarter-final tie at Cinderford, only for the game to be postponed because of a waterlogged pitch at the Southern League club's Causeway Stadium.

City boss Gary Johnson responded to the call-off by arranging a practice match between senior players and the youth team.

He said: "Brad played the entire game and I'm happy to say he has fully recovered from the injury.

"But it has been four or five weeks since he last played and he badly needs games. It was frustrating to have the reserve-team game called off for a second time and so we decided to do something among ourselves on the training ground.

"We gave a run out to those players we felt needed a game and put them up against the academy boys. It was a useful exercise and Brad came through OK."

Johnson could now face a selection dilemma, given that Cole Skuse has acquitted himself well while deputising for Orr on the right side of City's defence.

He said: "We'll have to see how fit Brad is and assess it later in the week. He has been out for quite a long time and he may need more games before he's ready.

"But if we consider him fit enough to come back into the first-team squad, then it will be good to have the extra competition for places."

Jamie McAllister is expected to be available for selection, despite limping out of Saturday's clash with Sheffield United.

The experienced left-back has yet to train this week, but Johnson is confident McAllister will recover in time to face Ipswich.

He said: "We've checked Jamie out and the feeling among the medical team is that he will be OK.

"We've kept him out of training for a couple of days as a precaution, but he'll be back with the group in good time for the weekend.

"He seems to pick up a niggling injury most weeks and somehow manages to make a miraculous recovery in time for the next match."