Coventry City’s Belgian winger Laurent Delorge is praying that he can make an impression at Highfield Road after the false start to his Sky Blues career.

The 20-year-old has suffered a string of setbacks since joining the club including a broken leg, a torn hamstring, a damaged ankle ligament and tendon problems.

When he joined from Ghent for £1.25 million 18 months ago Coventry manager Gordon Strachan claimed that City fans were in for a treat, but so far they have seen just 14 minutes of first team action from the player.

The wide man has now recovered from his injury nightmare but he admits that it will still be several months before he is fully fit.

He said:

"This year I hope to stay fit and pick up the training and match rhythm again.

"I need to stay on the bench and get into the team and maybe push then and see how it goes.

"I haven't got a lot of match fitness yet because I have only played two reserve games so I need to be involved with more matches."

Delorge’s problems come in stark contrast to the relatively injury free time he spent as a professional player in Belgium and he admits that picking up the injury so soon after arriving at the club has made things even harder.

He said:

"It was a nightmare to be injured for such a long time, especially when you do it so soon after coming to the club.

"I hadn't even played one game so it is a bit hard because no-one knows you or has seen you play before, so you have to do all the work again - you are starting from scratch.

"The Charlton game was a big relief. It was good to be back on the pitch again although it wasn't really a very good game to come on in.

"But to be back on the bench and just to be back involved in the team was great. I was a substitute at Old Trafford and that was good because it is a very impressive stadium."