Oxford United have confirmed that midfielder Anthony Forde is back in and around the training ground but haven’t given a time on his return from injury.
The 26-year-old, who broke four ribs and punctured a lung as the U’s drew with Shrewsbury Town last month, has been sidelined since.
The former Rotherham man is making good progress, but U’s boss Karl Robinson couldn’t give a date to see him back in a yellow shirt.
He told the Oxford Mail: “I think his recovery has been positive. He won’t be as long as we thought so we’ll look to welcoming another decent player back to our squad.
“Because of the type of injury we’ve never really nailed ourselves down to an exact time.
“It’s a case of has the lung healed, are the bones healing properly, are there still cracks?
“This is not just a normal muscle injury where you can generally put a decent timescale on it. This is internal organs we’re dealing with as well.
“He’s just getting on with it and the things he can do, like the bike. He’s a fit boy, so it’s not like he’ll lose a lot.”
Losing Forde came as a significant blow to Robinson who already had seven key players sidelined. But a few have returned and Robinson has also brought in some fresh faces during this transfer window.
Before his injury, Forde made 19 appearances for the U’s, scoring once during the defeat to Burton Albion in September, and provided two assists.
