SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown has been boosted by the return of Nile Ranger.

The striker - who has not featured since early January - was cleared to return to the Shrimpers following an FA Disciplinary Commission hearing.

And Brown revealed Ranger could be back in the squad for Tuesday's trip to Oxford United.

“It’s a big boost to have Nile back and although he’s missing game time he might be involved from the bench against Oxford,” said Brown.

“He’s trained behind closed doors but wasn’t able to play in any kind of games because of the FA ruling.

“You don’t lose too much fitness in a month but there’s been a lot of rubbish going on in his head.

“He’s had a stop start season but a lot of that has been self inflicted and we will do all we can to get him to the party.”

Ranger has scored three goals in 15 games so far this season and could also feature in a behind closed doors game on Wednesday to improve his match sharpness.

“We hope to have a game on Wednesday and if Nile can get some minutes under his belt there’s a possibility of him playing the following Saturday,” added Brown.