"To say he (Yakubu) is touch and go is a fair assessment," he said.
"He's probably a little bit ahead of schedule and we're pleased with him but it's a big step from being with me to actually starting a game in the Premier League so there's a bit of water to go under the bridge yet.
"He's doing really, really well but obviously he had a really nasty injury. I'm going to London with him tonight to see the consultant who I'm pretty sure will give us the go ahead to get him involved in the final stages of pre-season.
"He's trained really hard during the summer, he's in good shape and I'm really pleased with him."
"Mikel has done a lot of his rehabilitation in Spain during the summer with Joaquin, a Spanish physio who we know well," said Rathbone.
"He's been in good hands. He's doing very, very well and it looks good.
"Victor had a bad injury at Newcastle - which we all saw - but he's made good progress too and we're pleased with where he's at.
"Phil is going to see his surgeon on Wednesday. He's now 11 weeks post-op so he'll probably start doing a little bit more work.
"He's on target but if you rupture your cruciate ligament you're going to be out for a given length of time to allow for the healing process.
"They're not going to come back in three months from injuries like they've had and it's a mistake to push them back before that. We need to get them back as quickly as possible but we mustn't hurry them back and they must be fully rehabilitated."
"He's probably a little bit ahead of schedule and we're pleased with him but it's a big step from being with me to actually starting a game in the Premier League so there's a bit of water to go under the bridge yet.
"He's doing really, really well but obviously he had a really nasty injury. I'm going to London with him tonight to see the consultant who I'm pretty sure will give us the go ahead to get him involved in the final stages of pre-season.
"He's trained really hard during the summer, he's in good shape and I'm really pleased with him."
"Mikel has done a lot of his rehabilitation in Spain during the summer with Joaquin, a Spanish physio who we know well," said Rathbone.
"He's been in good hands. He's doing very, very well and it looks good.
"Victor had a bad injury at Newcastle - which we all saw - but he's made good progress too and we're pleased with where he's at.
"Phil is going to see his surgeon on Wednesday. He's now 11 weeks post-op so he'll probably start doing a little bit more work.
"He's on target but if you rupture your cruciate ligament you're going to be out for a given length of time to allow for the healing process.
"They're not going to come back in three months from injuries like they've had and it's a mistake to push them back before that. We need to get them back as quickly as possible but we mustn't hurry them back and they must be fully rehabilitated."
