Pennant tag may prevent comeback

Referee Howard Webb will have the final say on whether Jermaine Pennant can make his Birmingham comeback against Tottenham after being released from prison

Pennant is to be electronically tagged for the next two weeks after returning to training at Blues' Wast Hills training ground on Thursday.

City manager Steve Bruce has confirmed 22-year-old Pennant will be in the squad to face Martin Jol's side at St Andrews.

But Webb will decide whether the tagging device, which can be worn on Pennant's wrist or leg, is safe enough and not a hazard to opponents.

Bruce said: "Jermaine has come back. He will train on Friday. He didn't do much yesterday. We are awaiting Premier League confirmation but we think it will be a referee's decision on whether he will be allowed to play with the electronic tag.

"We know that Gary Croft of Ipswich and Matthew Sparrow of Scunthorpe both played with one but that wasn't in the Premier League.

"We are awaiting a ruling on that but we expect it to be up to the referee's discretion. There is nothing sharp on the device which is one and a half inches long and one and a half inches wide."

Bruce confirmed: "Jermaine is coming straight back into the squad. He just wants to get on with his life again and go out and play football. He'll play some part but I've not decided how much yet. He looked a bit tired in training on Thursday, which was natural."

Meanwhile, Bruce also confirmed skipper Kenny Cunningham is likely to be offered a new contract this summer.

The Republic of Ireland captain has just over a year left of his current deal but Bruce believes he can play at top level for at least another couple of seasons.