Coventry City defender James McPake is pleased with his progression from a broken back.
The centre half played his first forty five minutes against Hinckley on Wednesday night and is expected to havethe same amount of game time this afternoon against Kettering Town.
Speaking to the CT's Andy Turner, McPake said: "I felt ok and just how you would expect after a first game back.
"I wasn't sharp but it was good to get through 45 minutes because being out for almost seven months is a long time to be out of the game and for six of those months I was doing absolutely nothing. I couldn't even lift a weight so my body has been used to doing nothing until the last three or four weeks when I have started to work again.
"Sometimes it has not been happy but it was good to get a game and come through unscathed."
McPake played in a back three at Hinckley and he said:"The formation was ok and something I played quite a lot up in Scotland but ut was just good to get on the pitch. Anything else was a bonus because I just wanted to get through it without any niggles.
"You have to take it day to day with back injuries and that's the case in life and not just football because people with bad backs can wake up great one morning and it can be murder the next. Fingers crossed, I wake Ok and recover well.
"I would like another 45 minutes against Kettering if I can and then keep building it up, but to be honest I am miles away from being match fit. But that only comes with games.
"My aim is to be fit for the start of the season but it just depends on how many minutes I can get.
"That was always my aim and fingers crossed I will be fit, but whether I am match fit, depends on how much I play between now and then.
"I have been saying this for three different seasons now but I just want to stay injury free because when that happens everything else takes care of itself.
"That's when I play well and i am in the team but that has to be 30 plus games instead of 12,18 or 21.
"They are not great numbers but unfortnately, you can't pick and choose injuries but hopefully this season, I will get a wee bit of luck."
"I have trained with the boys for maybe a week and on my own for two weeks prior to that. I still got the odd bit of pain but nothing I wouldn't expect from an injury like I had.