DIALLANG Jaiyesimi’s progression since returning from injury has been hailed by Richie Wellens, who was keen to grant the Norwich loanee a full 90 minutes against Cheltenham on Saturday.

Playmaker Jaiyesimi completed his first 90-minute stint of the season at Whaddon Road, three months after he twisted his ankle at Town’s Beversbrook Sports Facility training base.

The 21-year-old was a constant threat to Michael Duff’s defence at the weekend, and his multiple eye-catching runs from the centre circle caught the eye of a Town fan or two.

Wellens opted to make no changes throughout Saturday’s FA Cup tie, though he revealed after full-time that he was tempted to replace Jaiyesimi with 15 minutes remaining as he showed signs of cramping up.

Wellens said: “When DJ (Diallang Jaiyesimi) got the ball, he was a threat every single time.

“Do you take someone off that is tiring, but is still a threat every time he gets the ball?

“I didn’t see their wing back running off him or contributing in our final third.

“If that started to happen, I might start to think about taking DJ off and putting fresh legs on. I thought the XI that stayed on the pitch were very good.”

Jaiyesimi will remain with Wellens for the remainder of the season unless Norwich opt to re-call the winger when the January transfer window opens – a move that is extremely unlikely to happen.

With five appearances under his belt since overcoming his injury blow, Wellens can now start to see signs of improvement in the youngster’s final third efficiency.

He added: “We’ve tried to build him up for 60 minutes, and you can see in his performance that he needed that.

“Hopefully the 90 minutes on Saturday will bring him on.”