FRENCHMAN Antoine Sibierski should be back in contention for a place in the Canary squad for the festive double of Crystal Palace away on Boxing Day and Nottingham Forest at home on December 28.

The on-loan forward has been out of action since coming on as a sub in the 3-2 defeat at Hillsborough but City boss Glenn Roeder said it is hoped he is close to a return: "Antoine should be back for the games on the 26th and 28th - if not the 26th^, then he will definitely be fine for the 28th. He should be ok, he's been in with the medical team all week."

In-form midfielder Matty Pattison has returned to training and was to be monitored in today's session at Colney after recovering from a dead leg picked up at Reading.

Meanwhile new signing Carl Cort continues working hard to gain match fitness after he made his City debut as a second-half substitute at the Madejski.

Roeder told First News: "Carl Cort has trained all week, he'll probably get a few minutes on the pitch tomorrow. We've arranged a game for Monday behind closed doors and he'll start in that match. He's a big physical presence, it's a calculated gamble we've taken but in the financial position we are in it's a win-win for us. Financially for him, he has to play and Carl's happy with that and he understands it.

"He has to play to earn so it's win-win, if he's playing that's fantastic. He deserves to be lucky, he's a great person - if we can get him match fit over the next month or so and get him back to anywhere near what he was he'll be helping us over the rest of the season.

"He would be the sort of striker you would not want to play against if you were a centre back, not because he's dirty or over aggressive but it's just his sheer size. He came on last week and he said afterwards you forget how quick the game is and I could see that, but it's to be expected and it's basically like learning to swim again."

Asked how talks over Elliot Omozusi's future with Fulham boss Roy Hodgson had been going, Roeder said: "I have spoken to them and it was a private conversation. When I put the phone down I wasn't disappointed. It wasn't by the post, but it wasn't negative either.

"There's a few things that need to happen between now and January 1 in order for Elliot to stay and I understand that, but Roy (Hodgson) couldn't promise me that he could stay because he doesn't know what's going to happen to his right-backs over the next few weeks. Hopefully it can be sorted out, and but there are things that need to be sorted out between Elliot and Fulham first."