Luis Boa Morte could make an emotional return against his former club Fulham on Saturday as he heads a list of players who are in contention for selection.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, manager Alan Curbishley said: "I have got to think about the eleven that start and those that go on during the game. People getting tired, people playing their first games coming back from injury. I have got a few things to weigh up before we get to the game."
Pushing hard is Boa Morte, who spent six and a half years in west London before his transfer across town a year ago. He has been missing since 12 December but came through a reserve match this week, along with defenders James Collins and Calum Davenport. Also involved was French international winger Julien Faubert, while the likes of Matthew Etherington and Lee Bowyer have gone from strength to strength in training.
"Luis has come through," said Curbishley of Boa Morte's recovery from a hamstring injury. "He hasn't been as out as long as the others - three to four weeks. He has packed a bit more in." Boa Morte could compete with Etherington, who started last week's 0-0 draw against Manchester City, for a left-wing berth but Curbishley was a bit more cautious about Faubert - fit again after six months out with an achilles problem.
"We have just got to make sure that he gets it right," the manager said. "Everyone is waiting for him to come back and we want him to be absolutely right and he can perform. We don't want him to come in and catch his fitness in the first team because the expectation level is there for everybody. We have waited long enough so we may have to wait another couple of weeks.
"We have got Craig Bellamy who is going to start full training. Bobby Zamora will start full running on Monday, we hope. Bellamy is out there every day now so it is just a question of when he comes back in. Things are slowly improving. We think [Nolberto] Solano will be a couple of weeks." Further to that, Freddie Ljungberg and Danny Gabbidon have also been in training.
Bellamy's abdominal problem has seen him laid low since 27 October, but Curbishley has high hopes he will soon be in the first-team picture. Again, it is a case of making sure the time is right. "If Craig gets a couple of weeks full training under his belt that may be enough for him. We are holding him back at the moment because he is out there running every day and wants to join in."