CALLUM Johnson is finally ready to play his first game in City colours today.

The summer recruit has had to wait since picking up an injury before the start of pre-season.

But the former Mansfield defender is primed for some action in a private game later.

“We’ve got a little bounce game against a local club behind closed doors,” said boss Graham Alexander.

“We’ve put it on for players like Callum and other lads who’ve missed a lot of game time.

“He’s been training with us for two weeks now and hasn’t missed a session. Hopefully he can play a part in this game and we can reevaluate where he is.

“He’s looked good in training but it’s not the match exposure that he really needs.

“He probably didn’t get enough of that last season and has had none of it in pre-season.”

Johnson arrived at Valley Parade on a one-year deal from Mansfield after missing most of the second half of last season with a serious hamstring injury.

He then suffered a fresh issue in June which has meant he has been playing catch-up with his new team-mates ever since.

Alexander added: “Training takes you up to a certain level but it’s only the games that can get you beyond that.

“He will be exposed to that hopefully and we’ll be able to see where he is.

“We took it steady with him and have been really careful. We’ve assessed all his data every single day.

“It’s been small steps because we just want to make sure.

“We took last year into account and we’re hoping he shows that resilience to prove what a good player he can be for us.”

Johnson was not included for the training trip to Austria last month while he was continuing his recovery. He instead spent the week at the National Football Centre in St George’s Park.

Alexander can see he is settling into the squad with the regular contact in training.

“That’s the frustration for all of us and not just Callum.

“We know what a good player he is. He’s proved that in the EFL already.

“There was just that one issue that we knew was potentially there.

“He’ll have been frustrated because when you come to a new club you want to show everybody how good you are straight away.

“I think it’s the quickest way to ingratiate yourself with your new team-mates by being out on the grass with them and going through all that but unfortunately he’s missed out.

“He’s still really popular among the players. You can see he interacts with a lot of the lads all the time.

“But he’s a footballer and he wants to play football. We signed him to do that for us, so we’ll see how he progresses.

“We still know that there’s a bit of catching up for him to do.”

Should Johnson come through unscathed, Alexander and his coaching staff will continue to tread carefully until he is fully up to speed.

“We talked about the squad being robust so we don’t have to take risks with any individuals with potential issues or problems.

“We’ve been able to do that through pre-season and now into the season. But we want them all fit and available as quick as possible.”