Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell is delighted to see defender Nathan McGinley back on the training pitch after 14 months out of the game - but warned he is still a long way off first team action.
The 26-year-old left-back, who joined the club almost three years ago, has been sidelined since March last year with an undisclosed issue and is now back among the first team squad as this season draws to a close.
However, ahead of Saturday's Premiership clash with Ross County, Kettlewell admits there is "a substantial amount of time to come" before the Englishman is back in claret and amber.
He said: “It’s nice to see Nathan back out on the park. It’s been a really, really tough struggle for him. I've only got to know him over the last couple of months and I haven't worked with him previously.
"He is out doing some very, very light work on the pitch.
“Fourteen months out the game is an awful long time and from what I hear from Nathan, the medical team and the sports science guys, there is a substantial amount of time that has to come now in terms of that build-up, and that’s provided there is no hiccup.
“It’s not just a case of getting back on the park and then he is available for selection or able to go straight into pre-season, there is an awful lot of work that has to go in to build Nathan up before to such a point that we can put him back into training sessions.
“The first step is there but we hadn’t got him on the park even to do light running during that 14 months, so that is a massive step.
"It was really nice to see him come back on the park and the round of applause from the players shows the togetherness we've got at the football club and the feel-good factor.
"I really hope he can kick on in the coming weeks and months and get himself back playing. It is such a difficult time living away from home, you are not able to kick a ball, you are not able to have that focus on a Saturday.
"Sometimes we have to look beyond the football and how difficult that can be for the individual."
Kettlewell knows all about injury woes himself, having seen his career brought a premature end by a hip injury, but says the light at the end of teh tunnel for McGinley can help him.
He added: "From a personal point of view I never had an injury until my last day at the age of 30 when I was delivered the news that I was finished and I couldn't play football anymore after two years of abuse on my hip, where it was riddled with arthritis and I was trying to play through it constantly.
"I'm not looking for any medals for that and it is definitely not the right thing to do.
"But I can tell you how that felt when that news was delivered to me.
"It's incredibly frustrating and it is tough mentally, but the good thing for Nathan is he has never had that news delivered, so he has that carrot at the end of it that he can get back playing."
Meanwhile, Kettlewell offered updates on two other injured players.
Left-back Jake Carroll has been crocked with a long-term knee injury and midfielder Josh Morris has been absent since November.
Kettlwell said: "Jake has still not been back on the park. The medical care he has had has been terrific and the access he has had to the medical guys here and the facilities is great.
"He knows the football club is doing everything it possibly can to get him back out there playing.
"Josh has been out with a longer-term injury and I expect there to be confirmation on that situation in the next week or two.”
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