It's been a long road paved with heartache and bad luck but Ross Killock is finally nearing a return for Chester FC.
The 22-year-old defender has seen just 10 minutes of football for the Blues this season following his summer move from Leeds United after two hamstring injuries put paid to his hopes of making a mark thus far.
Killock missed pre-season after picking up an injury before the first friendly and battled his way back to fitness to appear as a second half substitute at Macclesfield Town in October only to see his comeback end just minutes later when stretching for a loose ball.
But having toiled for months on end, much of it in solitude, to get back to fitness, Killock believes that he is finally at a point where he can begin his career in earnest under Chester manager Jon McCarthy.
"I've had a couple of tough weeks now out on the grass and building my fitness up," said the defender, who spent much of the 2013-14 season on loan at the Blues from Leeds.
"I'm back in training (on Monday, January 16) and I have just got to build it up from there. It has been quite hard to pick myself back up again. I was out at the start of the season for about eight weeks and then I got back, did about five weeks training and finally got back on the pitch and then it was the freak injury.
"It has been longer this time and there was a bit more damage than we first thought. But I have been sent to see the right people this time so hopefully it is sorted now."
Killock spent some time at St George's Park National Football Centre in Burton-upon-Trent in a bid to aid his recovery.
He has put in the hard yards on his road to recovery and endured session after session of fitness work on his own to build up his strength.
And the Yorkshireman admits that it has been an ordeal, especially after his Macclesfield woe, but says that his team-mates and the club have helped him through it.
"The lads are really close and that has helped," he said.
"Working on your own is hard and can be tiresome but as the weeks go by you get closer and I feel at the point now where I can get back out there and start playing. But I know the gaffer wants to be careful with me and I know where he is coming from as it has been quite a long time.
"It is hard. After Macclesfield I was really down for a couple of weeks and I just had to put it to the back of my mind. I've had a few injuries with my hamstring so I know the script and I knew what I had to do to get back. I have seen the right people and the club have been great.
"The first month is the hardest and I don't like not to be able to do anything and I want to be out there training and playing games. I'm not made for sitting in the gym all day. It's not me at all.
"I have got back a bit earlier than I thought. I went to St George's Park for a week and they scanned me and I was due back next month but I have been working really hard."
And when could that comeback be? According to Killock, it could be sooner than you'd think.
"We have a massive game on Saturday (at home to Wrexham) and I'm not expecting to be starting or anything like that but it would be nice to get back for that," said Killock.
"I came back to training the week of the derby last time around and I wasn't in the squad, and I know it is only another game but I just want to get out there and play.
"If I could get in the team and play 15 games between now and the end of the season then I would be happy with that. But the lads are doing really well and it isn't just a case of me getting back and getting straight in the team, I'm going to have to bide my time."
