Bamba ready for restart of Championship – Cardiff City boss Harris

Cardiff City manager Neil Harris has revealed Sol Bamba is ‘fine’ and ready for the restart of the Championship.

The centre-back has been a consistent performer for the Bluebirds since joining the side in 2016 before he suffered a ligament injury in March 2019.

The injury ruled him out from action from the remaining part of the 2018-19 season as his side failed in their quest to remain in the Premier League.

Bamba returned from the problem in November but has only played four times in the Championship against Birmingham City, Sheffield Wednesday, Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion before the outbreak of Covid-19.

Ahead of the resumption of the English second-tier this June, Harris believes the Bluebirds can benefit from the experience of the 35-year-old.

"Sol is fine. He has done every session, we are really pleased. We appreciate he is not getting any younger in years,” Haris was quoted as saying by BBC Sports.

"He is doing everything the players do, but you don't expect Sol Bamba to run with a player like Dion Sanderson, for example, who is 14 or 15 years younger.

"We have to be respectful of players who are at different levels and ages. But Sol has trained every session and has been great around the pitches, as ever."

Cardiff are currently ninth in the Championship table with 54 points from 37 games, two points below the play-off spot.

Bamba is not short of experience to help the side back to the Premier League, having played for Paris Saint-Germain, Dunfermline Athletic and Scottish side Hibernian.

The defender also featured for Leicester City, Trabzonspor, Palermo and Leeds United before joining Cardiff in 2016.

On the international scene, he has made 46 appearances for Ivory Coast and was part of the team that reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012.

The centre-back played for the Elephants at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups in South Africa and Brazil respectively.

He has made 104 league appearances for Cardiff since making his debut against Bristol City in October 2016 and will hope to continue to play his part for the side.