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Chris Davies says Tom Wagner is 'making great strides' in his recovery from a stroke after speaking to the Birmingham City chairman throughout the summer. Having been such a visible and vocal presence at St Andrew's for the first two-and-a-half years of Knighthead's ownership, Wagner has been forced to take a backseat in the last six months since suffering a stroke in February. Knighthead provided a brief update on Wagner last month, before Blues' friendly with Barcelona, saying: "Tom continues to make strong progress in his recovery. He remains deeply grateful for the countless messages of support and well wishes he has received from Blues fans over recent months. Those messages have meant a great deal to him and certainly hardened his resolve to be back in top form as quickly as possible. "We all look forward to welcoming Tom back to St. Andrew’s and expect to see him at a match in the near future." FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! All the latest Blues news on Birmingham Live’s Birmingham City FC Facebook page Now Blues manager Davies, speaking to BBC Radio WM on the eve of the new season, has revealed he has been in communication with Wagner during the summer months. "He has a real charisma and aura, it was really shocking news in February and it did rock us. It rocked the whole club," said Davies. "You put it into perspective and think what Tom and his family are actually going through, it's pretty meaningless what we're going through here in terms of our professional work. "He's made great progress. I've spoken to him several times this summer on video calls and things like that, in difficult circumstances he's making great strides. "Tom is such a figurehead for the club that naturally, when he hasn't been around for a few months it feels a bit different." In Wagner's absence, Andrew Shannahan and Matt Alvarez have been Knighthead's representation on the ground in Birmingham, while Tom Brady has continued to communicate with Davies from afar. Davies added: "Andrew Shannahan has been involved, Matt Alvarez, and there's constant communication with Tom Brady as well, he's always interested to know how we're doing, and obviously Jeremy Dale."