Birmingham City manager Lee Clark has insisted that he will not throw midfielder Keith Fahey back into first-team action.

The 29-year-old suffered from groin problems towards the end of the season, which forced the Northern Irishman to miss the Championship side's final five games of the campaign.

"Keith is making slow progress," Clark told the Birmingham Mail. "It will probably be the middle of September when Keith is available for first-team selection.

"But Keith knows that, he's fine. We're not going to rush him back. I've never put anyone's career in jeopardy to try and get them back quickly from an injury. Keith knows the protocol he has got to go through."

Fahey also missed out on competing in the European Championships after ruling himself out of the tournament weeks before the team traveled to Poland and Ukraine.