Sol Bamba: Cardiff City defender allowed to resume training

Cardiff City centre-back Sol Bamba has been allowed to resume "light, socially-distant training" ahead of the completion of his chemotherapy course.

The 36-year-old was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in January and immediately started his treatment.

The defender is delighted with his early return to training and has appreciated the support he has received so far.

"There's still a long way to go, but it's a very important step for me and one that I'm so happy to take," Bamba said, as per BBC Sport.

"The last couple of months have been very difficult for me and the family so to be ahead of schedule and out there with the lads enjoying myself has been unbelievable.

"I'm fortunate as I've got a lot of support from the footballing world, from my club, teammates and everyone I know in football around the world."

The Ivory Coast international has been with the Bluebirds since the summer of 2016 after leaving Leeds United.

Bamba helped Cardiff gain promotion to the Premier League in 2018 and featured prominently during their campaign in the top flight.

The defender, however, suffered a ligament injury in March 2019 which ruled him out for the remainder of the season, and he could not help the side as they were relegated to the Championship.

Bamba captained Cardiff a number of times and has made 117 appearances, scoring 10 goals across all competitions.

In the current campaign, the centre-back has played six times for Neil Harris’ men and had previously spoken of his target to help the club return to the Premier League.

Cardiff are eighth on the Championship table after gathering 58 points from 40 games and will take on Blackburn Rovers in their next outing on Saturday.

It is still unclear if Bamba could return to action before the end of the 2020-21 campaign. The defender has made 46 appearances for the Ivory Coast national team since his debut in 2016.

Bamba had featured for Paris Saint-Germain, Dunfermline Athletic, Hibernian, Trabzonspor, Palermo and Leeds United before joining Cardiff City.