ARMANDO Dobra will remain a Colchester United loan player until the end of the season, it has been confirmed.

The 20-year-old, who is on a season-long loan with the U's but has not featured for them since early January, appeared as a late substitute for parent club Ipswich Town's under-23 side in midweek.

Dobra returned to Town to train with the club's academy side, following his lack of involvement with Colchester under interim head coach Wayne Brown.

The Albania under-21 international came off the bench in Town's 1-0 under-23 defeat to Hull City at Portman Road, on Tuesday.

Brown said: "Dobs has got a year left at Ipswich so we're just giving him an opportunity to maybe put eyes on him, with the new staff that they have there in the 23s environment to give himself the best chance of impressing them as well as us.

"We know what Dobs can do and he's very much our player, until the end of the season.

"When called upon, Dobs is ready but it's about equality and a bit of rationale, to the lad.

"It's about giving him his best chance, in his career."

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna says it was a joint decision between the clubs and Armando Dobra for the attacker to return to Town.

Dobra cannot formally be recalled from his loan spell with Colchester outside the transfer window and so is therefore ineligible for Ipswich's five remaining first-team fixtures.

He has made 13 starts and four sub appearances during his loan spell at the JobServe Community Stadium, scoring twice.

McKenna said: “He’s been back training with the U23s a bit for fitness and playing time really.

"He wasn’t getting the minutes at Colchester that we hoped for lately.

“It was a joint decision between the two clubs and Armando that it would be best served for him to come back and train here for the meantime and get some more minutes in the U23s.”