Tranmere midfielder Ollie Banks is back in training after a three-month absence, Mike Jackson has confirmed.

The Rovers Assistant Manager spoke to the Globe after Micky Mellon’s side were eliminated from the Leasing.com Trophy 2-1 on Tuesday evening by Leicester City U21s at Prenton Park.

Banks, 27, was a key part of Rovers’ engine room last season as they pushed their way to promotion from League Two and news of his return will be welcome news for the Super White Army.

Jackson said: "He’s back in training this week. Each day we’re building him up. Hopefully we can get a full week’s training in by the end of this week and he’s closer to being back in full training with no problems. That’s what we’re hoping for."

Rovers’ recent cup exploits have been a welcome distraction from their league form as they prepare to fight off relegation from League One over the next four months.

They have been beset by injury problems this season and suffered a further problem against the Foxes when defender Sid Nelson was withdrawn with an issue early in the match.

Jackson said: "He felt his thigh. Sid’s had a lot of football recently. He didn’t feel like he could continue so he just had to come off. We’ll assess that over the next couple of days."

There was better news on the injury front for Rovers as Harvey Gilmour and former loan player Luke McCullough both made first team returns in the EFL trophy match, finishing unscathed.

McCullough has recently signed for Rovers on a non-contract basis and Jackson was thrilled with his return to action, adding: "I am so delighted for him, for what he’s been through with his second knee (injury). He’s not had a contract. He’s just stuck in there and grafted. That speaks volumes for the lad himself. We know what a good player he is.

"For him to put in a performance like that (tonight), I’m made up for him."

With league points the priority, defeat to Leicester in a cup competition largely dismissed by most supporters will not be considered particularly damaging but the match provided an opportunity for a number of youth players to make a name for themselves and Jackson was very pleased with what he had seen.

He said: "There’s five under 18s there making their debut. The young lads worked so hard. They really competed. We were unlucky with the goals. I think we should’ve had a penalty at the end looking back at it. All in all it’s been a good workout for us.

"We’ve had to manage the squad with the amount of games we’ve had recently and the games we’ve got coming up, so that’s what we had to look at as well.

"I think some of the young players would’ve come in yesterday and just thought it was going to be a normal week and then all of a sudden you’re playing in the first team tomorrow.

"It’s always good as a coach and a manager to see how they react. I think a lot of them came out with a lot of credit."