Davies delighted to see Oliver on the way back

It revolves around his fellow central defender Luke Oliver, who is on the comeback trail after suffering a horrific injury when he damaged cruciate ligaments in the 1-0 defeat at Burton Albion on October 27 last year.

That game also proved a fateful one for Davies, who suffered a knee injury in the same encounter and had to wait until mid-February for his next taste of first-team action.

A regular since then, Davies – whose signing of a new deal was widely lauded as City’s best piece of close-season business – is now over his injury problems, while Oliver is also seeing light at the end of the tunnel in his quest for a long-awaited first-team return.

However, given his well-documented injury toils, which saw him miss out as City enjoyed one of the best seasons in their history – culminating in two Wembley visits – it is a case of slowly but surely.

Oliver followed up a half-hour appearance against Harrogate Town with an hour’s action against Bradford Park Avenue earlier this month and then enjoyed 75 minutes of play against Accrington in a private friendly.

One thing is for sure: when Oliver makes it back into the first-team fray, the cheers when he returns to the ranks and the backslaps from his team-mates will be hearty and considerable.

Davies – part of a Bantams side who have claimed seven points from their opening four games and are eyeing a first away win of the season at Stevenage today – said: “I have seen what Luke has been through with me also getting injured last year – both at the same time with serious injuries, although he was going to be out for a bit longer because his injury was worse than mine.

“The fact is that he has been in the gym and is working so hard and these are things that people don’t see.

“But I have seen him absolutely grafting, so it was great to see him back in the reserves because if anyone deserves some luck, it’s him.”

Davies will continue his fine partnership with Rory McArdle in the heart of the defence this afternoon.