Midfielder Dom Ball says he’s making good progress following his knee injury and hopes to be available for the season’s final 10 or 12 matches.
The 27-year-old, who joined the Blues having left QPR in the summer, suffered a ruptured meniscus in the 4-4 draw at Charlton and subsequently underwent surgery which was expected to keep him out for the rest of the season.
However, speaking to Saturday’s Life’s a Pitch on BBC Radio Suffolk (3hrs 19mins 14secs), Ball says he isn’t far away from making a return.
"I’m very good, thank you,” he said. "This week I’ve been back on the pitch training, a little bit of running, a little bit of ball work, so it’s moving along nicely.
"I had a torn medial meniscus, which is in the inside bit. This is my first injury, so some of the terms they use I haven’t really got a clue, but all I know is that it’s healed pretty well and I’m feeling strong and I can’t want to get back now.”
He added: "Because it’s the meniscus, it’s the cartilage, it isn’t a great healer. But [the surgeon] removed the bits that weren’t good at healing, so the other bits have healed pretty well and I do feel a lot stronger, even this week out on the pitch I’ve felt pretty decent, so I’m happy with that.”
Ball, who has made six starts and five sub appearances for the Blues, scoring once, says he was shocked when he visited the hospital ahead of the operation.
"I went in to see the surgeon and the surgeon said, ‘How long’s your contract?’ and I’m thinking ‘I hope it’s not that bad!’,” he recalled.
"He said one of the options was removing [the cartilage] but nowadays they opt not to do that because it does tend to lead to arthritis and knee replacements.
"They’ve tried to maintain as much of my meniscus as possible. It feels like it’s in a good place and I’m looking forward to testing it.”
Having initially expected to sit out until pre-season, Ball now can’t wait to play a role in the final months of the Blues’ promotion push.
"I’m hoping I get back for the last 10 or 12 games,” he said. "So pretty much the whole of March, whole of April and hopefully that’s it, hopefully there is no May, but if there is, it would be great to be a part of it.”
Life's a Pitch also spoke to Blues keeper Nick Hayes, who is also on his way back from injury (3hrs 36mins 25secs).