Izzet is stepping up his rehabilitation work and is on the verge of making a fully-fledged return to training.

But Bruce feels it would be a big psychological boost for Izzet if he could taste some competitive action before the curtain is brought down on the current season.

Bruce told the Press Association: “Muzzy has been doing a lot of training and a lot of mileage.

“You would think he was training for the London Marathon the way he is at the moment. He is running for an hour and a half a day.

“He has worked extremely hard and has had no reaction which is excellent because, even if he gets himself fit now, it’s all about whether we rush him back.

“It would be nice if we could get him some sort of competitive game even for his own peace of mind. We haven’t put him into a training session yet but he is on the edge of stepping into it.

“He’s one of the players that has been missing for most of the season alongside the likes of Mikael Forssell, David Dunn and Stan Lazaridis. It will be like having a new player when he is fit for next season.”