ZAT Knight believes Gary Cahill’s timely return from injury can see him claim a place in England’s World Cup squad in South Africa.

Wanderers hope to step up the centre-half’s training to full contact on Monday morning after several weeks on the sidelines with a blood clot in his arm.

Cahill has been given the all-clear by medics to play again this season after he underwent corrective surgery to ensure the problem would not occur again.

And while Knight praised the job done by Sam Ricketts in the middle of defence in his absence, the 29-year-old hopes Cahill’s return can be good for both club and country.

“It’s great to see him back around the place — all the boys have been giving him a lot of confidence,” he said.

“Hopefully he can get back in the team although Sam Ricketts has done a brilliant job while he has been away. He’ll hopefully be available for selection next Saturday and, as a team, we want to push him forward and make sure he’s on that plane.

“If he can get in there over the next few games and do well for himself, I’m sure he can be on the flight.” Knight hopes Tuesday night’s defeat against Sunderland will prove a flash in the pan, and has backed Wanderers to bounce back in tomorrow’s derby against Wigan.

“We’ve got to put it well behind us,” he said. “We maybe went into the game a bit over-confident after the two wins in a row against Wolves and West Ham, but we can put it right with a win against Wigan.”