Cardiff City's two most exciting young stars have barely made an impact on the Bluebirds' season so far.
Rubin Colwill has started just one game while Isaak Davies is yet to kick a ball in senior football this term after suffering an injury away at Derby County at the end of last season.
The Bluebirds need all hands to the pump in the second half of the campaign after struggling to produce in the final third of the pitch so far this term.
While a fully-fit rookie duo of Colwill and Davies will hardly solve all of City's problems, it can only serve to help their current plight. Mark Hudson needs all of his options available and these two are seen as jewels in the academy crown with bright futures ahead.
While Colwill's struggles this term were once again documented in detail by Mark Hudson on Friday, which you can read about in full here, Davies' return to action appears to be creeping ever closer. However, the Boxing Day clash with QPR is likely to be too soon.
Davies played more than an hour in the under-21s' 2-0 win over Sunderland on Wednesday afternoon and is set for a recall to the first team any day now. Hudson certainly wants him to be involved. Speaking about Davies' impact in the academy game, Hudson said the youngster was too hard on himself and reassured him that his match sharpness will come with time.
"I went to the game and watched it - he felt rusty but that's not my fear, I think he was a bit hard on himself," Hudson said of Davies' hour of work against the young Black Cats.
"He said, 'I felt like I couldn't get going and get too many touches'. I said, 'your rhythm isn't going to be there just yet'. That's why we played the game.
"What you can't recreate in training is the whacks you're going to get from defenders or skipping past someone and taking the ball in full flow. So, he took a few whacks and has realised he is alright. It's about building him up now. He has been really good in training, really sharp, but we need the bigger areas now and that's why we had the game."
There is some debate over what Davies' best position is. He scored goals for fun at junior level, but has found that particular aspect a challenge after stepping up to Championship level. He looked a dangerous weapon as a winger for City's first team last season, so is that where his future lies? Hudson wants to keep his options open.
"I think he can play both, he can play on the right and then definitely down the middle," he said. "He has a threat in both positions and has something different to other players. He is electric. His work ethic is second to none. He is exciting and I'm looking forward to getting him back, to be honest."
With Davies and Colwill both set to be pushing for first-team minutes in the coming weeks, it leaves Hudson with quite the forward stable from which to choose: Davies, Colwill, Callum Robinson, Kion Etete, Mark Harris, Max Watters, Jaden Philogene, Sheyi Ojo, Callum O'Dowda and Gavin Whyte are all vying for three or four places in that first team. But, for Hudson it's a welcome dilemma.
"That's what we want. I want to be put in those positions and to be making decisions about those players. It's about everyone wanting to be in the shirt, in the XI, on the bench. There are decisions to be made and it's been a positive week for everyone who came through that Sunderland game."
Despite two draws after the World Cup break, against Stoke City and Blackpool, Cardiff played far better, more attacking football. With the table still so closely packed, a few good results can see any team shoot up the ladder.
"We are looking up," Hudson said of his side, who currently sit two points above the bottom three. "West Brom have gone on an unbelievable run and are now three points ahead of us. It's something that depends on whether you're a glass half full or half empty person, mine is always full. You have got to look at the positives and I will always do that. We have got an opportunity, as a club, that if we get points we can move up the table. If we go back-to-back then you are in and around it."
And what's on Hudson's Christmas wish list? "Lots of wins," he said. "And lots of smiling faces."
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