Newcastle United winger Damien Duff is all set to step up his bid to make a comeback to first team, as he will turn up for the Toon reserves against Manchester United second-string at Northwich Victoria on Thursday night.
The Republic of Ireland international has not kicked a ball since April when he got a serious career-threatening foot injury at Portsmouth.
Magpies boss Sam Allardyce had revealed his delight on seeing the 28-year-old back in training last month.
He said: "It's great to see Damien back in training. He's just starting to join in with the players and there will be a period of time when he gets used to training on a day-to-day basis.
"He'll have to get used to the physical contact first of all and from there we'll take it into a reserve match. Hopefully we'll have him back to the sort of level we know he can play at as quickly as possible.
"We're looking forward to having him back in the first-team squad because Damien is a player of undoubted class who can play a big part for us this season."
The Republic of Ireland international has not kicked a ball since April when he got a serious career-threatening foot injury at Portsmouth.
Magpies boss Sam Allardyce had revealed his delight on seeing the 28-year-old back in training last month.
He said: "It's great to see Damien back in training. He's just starting to join in with the players and there will be a period of time when he gets used to training on a day-to-day basis.
"He'll have to get used to the physical contact first of all and from there we'll take it into a reserve match. Hopefully we'll have him back to the sort of level we know he can play at as quickly as possible.
"We're looking forward to having him back in the first-team squad because Damien is a player of undoubted class who can play a big part for us this season."