Gordon making steady progress in return from injury

Jan 10 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

CRAIG Gordon continues to make steady progress from the ankle injury that has ravaged his season, but remains “miles away” from a first team comeback.

The Scotland goalkeeper has played only once since mid-October, in the ill-fated 4-1 home defeat against Bolton, and has admitted this week that his comeback came months too early.

He was ordered to have a fortnight’s rest after that game and has since returned to do gym and fitness work, but it will be a couple of weeks before he returns to full training. Manager Ricky Sbragia is determined to pursue a ‘softly, softly’ approach when it comes to the fitness of the 26-year-old, who admits this is the worst injury of his career.

“There is a concern with pushing him too much,” Sbragia.

“We don’t want to push him back to the start and leave him with seven or eight weeks more out.

“The soreness round the joint has gone away which is important. He’s doing gym work and spinning and a little bit of handling. He’s miles away from joining us in the squad, though.” Sbragia has been careful not to place a timescale on Gordon’s comeback, and is adamant that he will have to play some reserve team games before he is even considered for the first team.

“He’s had an ankle injury and he was rushed back too quick. He’s not had surgery – he was told to have two to three weeks complete rest which he’s now had,” he said.

“He’s going to have to play some sort of reserve football before he can come back to the first team – get some match practice.” And with his replacement Márton Fülöp in decent form, Gordon is not guaranteed first team football when he does return to the scene.

“Marton has done extremely well for me – he’s given me a problem when Craig does come back,” said Sbragia.

For his part, Gordon admits that progress has been painstaking.

“I’m taking careful steps at the moment, I still have to look after the ankle, but I’m glad to say my comeback is weeks rather than months away,” he wrote on his blog for Sunderland’s official website.