Sam Saunders stepped up his recovery from a knee injury after returning to training this week.

The influential midfielder hasn't featured since the win against Port Vale in January due to a knee problem.

Saunders went under the knife the following month in a bid to fix the niggle and is well on the road to recovery.

Video Loading

Saunders spent a fortnight at the St George's Park National Football Centre to try and speed up the process and took part in training at the club's Jersey Road base on Friday.

Tomorrow's trip to Swindon will come too soon but the 30-year-old is due to resume full sessions next week ahead of the Easter double-header with Preston and MK Dons.

Bees boss Mark Warburton said: “Sam is not far away now. We’re looking at a mid-April return to action.”