Gary McAllister hopes to give Coventry City manager Gordon Strachan a pleasant surprise later this week.

The club captain, whose exit from Saturday’s match against Blackburn Rovers, was a painful one, is making healthy progress from his ankle injury and hopes he can play at Arsenal on Saturday.

McAllister hopes to earn a recall for Scotland later this month, and that ambition looked to be in danger when he limped off the pitch.

But he said:

"I am a quick healer and I know this injury of old. I should know by Friday if I will be fit enough to play.

"I collected the injury when I went up for a header. I landed awkwardly in a rut and went over on the joint. I could see it swelling through my stocking and when I reached the touch line it was ballooning. I went straight to the medical room to get ice on it to keep the swelling down."

McAllister was driven to hospital for X-rays but they revealed no bone damage.

Even if he cannot play against Arsenal he would be ready for Scotland’s international match against Bosnia the following weekend – if selected.

Scotland’s manager Craig Brown has been making encouraging noises. McAllister, who has won fifty caps for his country, cruelly missed out on the World Cup Finals in France because he ruptured his cruciate knee ligament and needed surgery.

But he is back to his best form and Brown has said he has taken note of his former skipper’s progress.

City meanwhile are enthusing over their young striker Gary McSheffrey who was born within a goalkick of Highfield Road.

The 16 year old, who recently became the club’s youngest ever first teamer, rammed home a hat-trick for the under-19s in their 5-1 defeat of Norwich City yesterday, bringing his season’s goals total to twenty-nine.