NEW manager Neil Lennon will get an early boost with the news that two key first team players are closing in on a return to fitness.

David Wheater and Liam Trotter are pencilled in to return to training next week after several weeks on the sidelines.

A once-crowded treatment room at Euxton is now starting to empty, with hopes high that both Wheater and Trotter could be involved as early as next weekend, if selected.

Centre-half Wheater was brought off after just seven minutes of the 1-0 defeat to Leeds United on August 30 after sustaining a back strain during the warm-up.

Trotter’s lay-off has been slightly longer, the midfielder limping out of the 3-2 victory over Crewe in the Capital One Cup four days earlier with a hamstring tear.

That leaves Adam Bogdan, Mark Davies, Marc Tierney and Samni Odelusi as the only senior players who will be unavailable for selection to the new manager, who is expected to be in place early next week.

Bogdan sustained a fractured finger after making a routine save in training, which initially put him out of action for eight weeks.

It is understood the Hungary international is making good progress and could soon return to light training.

Odelusi’s absence was somewhat of a mystery earlier in the season but the club have recently confirmed that he sustained a knee injury that rules the young striker out of action until December at the earliest.

Davies will be out for a fortnight with bruising on his knee, while left-back Tierney is expected back at Christmas after more than a year out of action with a broken leg.