The winger is yet to feature in the 2021/22 campaign, having suffered an ACL injury last May, and has been pushing for a return in recent weeks.
Due to the nature of the injury, her recovery has had to be managed carefully but Gareth Taylor says the forward is set to make a welcome comeback in our trip to West Ham a week on Saturday.
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“Chloe’s a couple of days down the line in her recovery in terms of training minutes under her belt,” he said. “She’s not too far away.
“The plan is she’ll be available for minutes next weekend at West Ham. That’s the plan at the moment but that’s always subject to change, depending on how she checks in – but that’s the outline for her, which is great.
“It gives you a huge option – an option we’ve not had all season. It was similar to not having Lauren [Hemp] last season for the first six months but we’ve seen that with a few players already. We didn’t have Ellie [Roebuck] in the first half or Lucy [Bronze] so getting them back is great.
“We look really healthy. Everyone’s contributing whether that be in training or games. It’s a great option to have as a coach, having someone like Chloe coming back, but we have to manage her transition back to games and the intensity of the games in the right manner.
“We’ll make sure she’s ready at the right time to go in and start a game (but) at the moment, it won’t be from the start.
“There’s no doubt it’s a selection headache but we have real variety in our front players and a lot of options. It’s a good headache.
“[Jess] Park gives you something different to Chloe, to what Hayley [Raso] would, and on the other side with Julie [Blakstad], Lauren and Janine [Beckie].
“These players give you different types of ammunition to go into games and we monitor that closely. They’re a real good bunch to work with. They all want to play; I understand that and they understand what it takes to play but they really support one another as well, which is the most pleasing aspect of this run.
“Everyone’s contributed in their own way and it’s not taken lightly by myself. It’s really important that everyone contributes to the team being successful.”
Previewing Sunday’s visit of Birmingham, the Head Coach added the squad are coping well amidst a heavy run of fixtures with four games in 11 days.
Asked of an update on squad fitness, he replied: “Pretty good. We’ve had to manage a heavy load in a tight schedule. It was various groups this morning in training practice – some did more than others – but it has been managed really well.
“The players look pretty good but we’re matchday -2 and also +2 as well. This schedule we’ve had, these are probably the easiest parts because you get an extra day. Playing Sunday to Wednesday is different from playing Wednesday to Sunday. Everyone’s looking right.”
Victory for City this weekend could see City leapfrog Manchester United into third spot, as the race for a Women’s Champions League spot intensifies.
With Taylor’s side facing bottom-of-the-table Birmingham, many are predicting a comfortable afternoon for the Continental Cup winners – but the Head Coach reminded of the away fixture, in which City needed a late winner in a five-goal thriller, warning the visitors have nothing to lose.
“They have [performed better against top sides],” he added. “They were convincing against Arsenal in their win and I think they’re a team effectively playing for a bit of pride.
“I know Darren Carter from meeting him a few times. He’s passionate about changing things and establishing himself at Birmingham. They’ve got the right guy in place there but it takes time, it takes time to build things.
“What they will do is make it really difficult. They did for us before Christmas. We got the victory in the end through sheer perseverance and determination but we need to be right in the performance because they’ll make it difficult and the more they’re encouraged by continually being rewarded from stopping us playing, their tails will be up a little bit. We just need to manage what we do and understand probably what we’re going to face.
“I think when we look at them previously, they try to engage from our build-up so will come and press but once you get through that, if you don’t capitalise on that by hitting them through the spaces, they’ll block up and make it difficult.
“The unpredictability of it is the interesting part. We’re not really sure what they’ll do - if they’ll play five or they’ll play four. They’ve played five pretty much consistently. Let’s see... We’ve come up against Everton and eventually managed to break it down. That’s the challenge for the players.
“ they’re aware of the expectation in our performance and where the spaces will be. The knowledge, rhythm and tempo at the moment is pretty good. It’s a difficult game because Birmingham will make it difficult for us. We just need to focus on ourselves and do all the right things to be successful.
“We take one game at a time, and try not to look too far ahead or at what’s happening elsewhere. This finishes off a run of four home games. We’re looking forward to that and we’ve shown good rhythm and tempo in our play, as well as scoring goals.
“We need to focus on what we can affect and the thing we can affect is the next session and match. It’s as simple as that. We try to guide the players in that respect rather than trying to control the uncontrollables.”
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