George Green's first appearance in a Chester FC shirt will only come when he is ready, according to Blues joint-manager Anthony Johnson.
The 22-year-old joined Chester from fellow National League North side Nuneaton Borough a fortnight ago but missed the friendlies with Bury and Morecambe after he was forced to pull out of the pre-match warm up before the Shakers clash with a strain in his lower back.
He sat out the 2-2 draw with the Shrimpers on Tuesday night but it remains to be seen whether he faces his old club Everton this weekend when the Toffees bring their under-23 side to the Swansway Chester Stadium.
And while Johnson understands that Blues fans are keen to see the talented attacking midfielder, who Everton signed as a 14-year-old in a deal that could have been worth up to £2m, in action, Johnson and co-boss Bernard Morley will only play him when he is ready, conscious of him suffering any needless setbacks.
"We don't want to put a timeframe on it because the lad himself only gets let down by that," said Johnson after the draw with Morecambe.
"If we start saying he'll be right in five days, six days, seven days and he's not, it sets him back. When he's ready we'll start to up it.
"We've got George Green missing at this moment in time to come back in to that - we look the part. But we don't want to put a timeframe on the lad because I think it will only be a negative thing for all of us."
Chester take on the Toffees on Saturday in their final game of pre-season ahead of the National League North season opener at home to Spennymoor Town on Saturday, August 4.
Trialist Deane Smalley could get one last chance to impress alongside other hopefuls as Johnson and Morley look to address their striker shortage.
Matty Hughes will miss the opening two games of the season owing to a ban carried over from last season and that means the Blues bosses will be stepping up their search for a frontman, with the club in discussions with a National League side.
One player who won't feature for the forseeable is Academy scholar Cain Noble who suffered a metatarsal injury in the 4-0 win at Llandudno last week .
