Colchester United are urgently trying to arrange a weekend friendly to give midfielder Ben Perry his first game in over a year. The 21-year-old is ready to return from a cruciate ligament injury sustained last August and needs match fitness to be considered for next week's EFL Trophy group opener at Peterborough United.
Manager Danny Cowley confirmed the club's efforts to find a game for the young midfielder. "Pez is due to play his first game," Cowley said. "We were hoping to put an additional fixture in at the weekend." Perry was set to feature for the under-21s at Wigan Athletic earlier this week, but that match was called off. A planned friendly for Friday also fell through, leaving the club searching for another opportunity. Cowley stated the goal is to get Perry between 60 and 75 minutes of action in a non-competitive setting to properly prepare him.
Cowley explained that throwing Perry straight into competitive action after such a long layoff is not ideal. The midfielder has been in full training for some time. "We probably wouldn’t want him to go into those competitive games without having some form of game under his belt, particularly when it's post-cruciate and 12 months plus out," the manager said. The aim is to set him up for a potential role against Peterborough next Tuesday, and possibly for the following league game against Luton Town, with the club's full fixtures schedule available online.
The push for Perry's return comes as Colchester prepare for a home league fixture against fourth-placed Cheltenham this Saturday. The U's currently sit 13th in League Two with 8 points from their opening six matches. Their recent form shows two wins, a draw, and two defeats from the last five outings. Top scorer J. Perry's availability would add another option in midfield as the squad handles a busy period of cup and league commitments, with the team's overall stats reflecting their mixed start to the season.
This story first appeared at Colchester Gazette
