Midfielder David Norris says he is hopeful he will match manager Roy Keane’s expectations and be back in action ahead of schedule. The former Plymouth man has been out of action since the opening day game at Coventry when he suffered knee ligament damage.
Norris told the club site: "Things are going well. I saw the specialist a couple of days ago and he was pleasantly surprised by how well the knee looked.
"It's definitely healing and that process will take care of itself. It's important for me now to build up the muscles as strong as possible around the knee to help it.
"I've come out of a fixed brace and am doing some swimming and cycling work and there has been a massive improvement just doing that over the last two weeks.
"I feel I am making progress now. The first two weeks were really hard and I was struggling to get my head around the fact that I was going to miss half the season.
"I've got to be guided by the specialists and physios, but I feel I'm ahead of schedule and have my own target in mind. If there are no setbacks, I'm sure it will be much closer to four months than six.
"The gaffer and the players have been great in helping me along. They have kept me involved in the banter and I just want to get back and help the lads as soon as possible."
Last week, manager Keane similarly felt that the 28-year-old would be back sooner rather than later: "He’s been told by the surgeons December, so I’ve said to him that means November, so we’re looking at November.”