Bristol City defender Liam Fontaine is preparing to step up his comeback in the next few days.

Out of action since damaging ankle ligaments during a 1-0 defeat against Derby County at Pride Park in September, the 23-year-old has been forced to sit out Bristol City's last five Championship fixtures.

But his lengthy rehabilitation is coming to an end and Fontaine expects to return to light training tomorrow.

And if he suffers no adverse reaction, there is a strong possibility he will feature in next Monday's rearranged reserve-team fixture against Salisbury City at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium.

Bristol City boss Gary Johnson said: "Liam is making good progress and his rehabilitation is almost complete.

"We expect him to start training tomorrow and be back working with the main group in the near future.

"He is a naturally fit lad and, providing there are no unexpected setbacks, we will be looking to get him involved in the Salisbury game.

"Liam needs a couple of games before he's ready to come back into the first-team squad. He's missed a few weeks and is bound to have lost a bit of match sharpness."

Fontaine is unlikely to be ready for Bristol City's trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, November 7, but will be involved in a Totesport.com Wales and West Combination game at Reading four days later.

He should be ready to challenge for a first-team place by the time City visit West Bromwich Albion on November 21 following the two-week break for international matches.

Johnson said: "Liam is still 10 days to two weeks away from being first-team fit and the international break comes at a good time for him. By the time that comes to an end, he will hopefully have played a couple of games and be available for selection."

Fontaine said watching his team-mates from the sidelines has been a "lonely" business.

He admitted: "I'm desperate to be back involved with the lads again. When you're out for so long you feel out of the loop.

"I've still been following the games and cheering the lads on but I just want to get back to it now. I'm lonely.

"It's disappointing when you are injured for this long, but you just have to take it on the chin and deal with it."

He added: "I've been stepping things up this week, getting back into training with pitch work and ball work. I've also been doing some bike work and swimming to keep my fitness up while taking pressure off the ankle.

"The next step is to re-join training and I'll also have to play some reserve games to build up my match time."

Lewin Nyatanga has taken advantage of Fontaine's absence to establish himself in manager Johnson's starting line-up and the summer signing from Derby has played a significant role in the five-match unbeaten sequence which has seen City move into the play-off zone.

Johnson said: "We've been fortunate in that we've had three, four or five people missing at once, but none that play in the same position. We've been able to cover the injuries because of the size of the squad. Lewin has come in and done really well. He's a strong player with good composure and an assured left foot.

"His ability means we are still able to go with three defenders at the back."