Matty Lund, who has been side lined since dislocating his shoulder at Chesterfield in August, is making good progress in his recovery from the injury.
As well as dislocating his shoulder, Lund also sustained ligament damage, leading to a lengthy recovery time.
With it being six weeks since his last appearance, Lund himself reckons he has become the club ghost, and speaking in Friday’s Dale Player interview, an upbeat Keith Hill, joked: “Matty who?”
Lund has returned to the training pitch in order to build his fitness levels, however, he is still unable to take part in full training as he is unable to make contact, as explained by Hill.
“He’s an unbelievable player and it will be like recruiting another central midfield player, which is superb.
“From my perspective, I can’t wait for him to get back fit and training and be part of the squad again, that’s if he can actually get in it,” laughed Hill.
“That is the big challenge for Matty Lund, who was probably one of the stand-out midfield players in League Two last season. Will he get in the squad now? Well that’s up to him and the players that are carrying the shirts at this moment in time, it’s not up to me.
“They’ve got to realise that he’s very, very close behind them in footsteps. He has already started looking like a player again on the training pitch, even although it’s non-contact. This week he has been warming up ready and what a player he is.
“While we’re doing what we’re doing , we don’t mind, and this is with the greatest of respect, having these types of injuries. It means you’re not in any great rush and that you can make sure he’s 100% ready, fit and available to make an impact when the time is right.”
The full interview is available on Dale Player.