COLCHESTER United boss John McGreal believes his side’s well-earned breather has come at a perfect time.

The U’s have the luxury of a rare weekend off following the postponement of their scheduled home fixture against Bradford City.

The sides had been set to meet in a League Two clash at the JobServe Community Stadium on Saturday.

However, Colchester called it off because of international call-ups for Brandon Comley (Montserrat), Luke Gambin (Malta) and Callum Harriott (Guyana).

After a busy week of cup football, McGreal believes the hiatus has come an opportune time for his players to get some well-earned R&R.

The U’s boss said: “One or two of the boys are nursing injuries and we’ve played 25 games already (17 in the league, four in the Carabao Cup, three in the Leasing.com Trophy and one in the FA Cup).

“Many of the lads have played a lot of those matches and had a lot of game-time, although I’d imagine those who came in and played against Ipswich probably wish we had another one on Saturday.

“We haven’t had a ten-day break before and knew it was coming, so wanted to go out on a high and give the boys some time to recover.

“It’s come at the right time for us, to allow them to rest and recuperate and also to assess how the first third of the season has gone.

“It’s time to take a break and assess what we’ve achieved so far, then we’ll go again.”

Comley and Gambin both missed U’s games last month and now they will be joined on international duty by Harriott, who has been called up by Guyana for their upcoming Americas/CaribbeanNations League matches against Aruba and Jamaica.

Midfielder Comley will also be in action, with his Montserrat side taking on El Salvador and Saint Lucia.

Maltese star Gambin will be taking on Spain and Norway in the Euro qualifiers.

Colchester’s next fixture is their trip to Cheltenham Town, on Saturday week (November 23).

And McGreal, who saw his side bow out of the FA Cup against Coventry City on Saturday before pipping neighbours Ipswich Town 1-0 in the Leasing.com Trophy on Tuesday, believes it is a big match to look forward to at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium.

“We’re still in three competitions (the league, Carabao Cup and Leasing.com Trophy) and what a game to have next, against Cheltenham.

“They’re sixth and we’re eighth, a point off the play-offs.

“There’s all to play for and it’s been a great start to the season so far.”

Meanwhile, McGreal says the form of Cohen Bramall reminds him of that of his predecessor at left-back, Kane Vincent-Young.

Bramall, who arrived in August after leaving Premier League side Arsenal, has performed well over recent games for Colchester.

He was signed as a replacement for Vincent-Young, whose eye-catching performances for the U’s earned him a move to League One side Ipswich Town, in September.

And boss McGreal says he can see similarities between the two players.

McGreal said: “The way Cohen is performing for us at this moment in time is like the way Kane was.

“Kane was brilliant for us and now with Cohen and Jacko again, we’ve got potentially two of the best full-backs in the division.

“They’ve got the licence to go and attack, to create and score goals knowing that they still have to do their defensive duty as well and they do that.”