Midfielder David Norris came through an hour of a training game at Playford Road on Tuesday afternoon without feeling any ill effects. The former Plymouth man has been sidelined since suffering knee ligament damage on the opening day of the season at Coventry City.
The match was Norris’s first ‘competitive’ action as he continues his recovery from the injury, which was inadvertently inflicted by team-mate Jon Stead.
Last week, manager Roy Keane said he expected Norris to be ready for first team football in less than a month: "He’s done really, really well but let’s remember the boy’s been out for a long, long time.
"It’s good to see him back, we’ve missed him. I’m thinking around the new year would be a fair timescale for David to be back in the first team.
"If he was to do well in the next week or two then I wouldn’t rule him out being in the squad [before then], whether he’s in the starting XI is a big ask. But sometimes it’s just nice to get these players back around the first team squad as it gives everyone a boost.”