Phinn hopeful of return

Whether I am ready or not is up to the gaffer but it is great just to be back with the boys

Nick Phinn is optimistic that after weeks of working on his comeback that he will finally make the Pars squad the SPL game against Aberdeen. Since mid July he has been troubled by one thing after another. First it was a torn hamstring sustained in Austria in pre season but he has had three or four breakdowns as he attempted to return.

He is hopeful that this time that he has mended successfully although he is naturally cautious when asked if he is fit.

The player ended up going down to see a London doctor who gave him an injection in his back. Ever since he has not had any bother.

"I went for a scan when I tore my hamstring but it was a grade one which is the smallest. In the length of time that I have been injured there are boys with ruptured hamstrings who are back playing. You'd rather that it was something more straight forward; these things happen."

The 23 year old Pars midfielder has played only 65 minutes of football this season; the second half against Livingston on 2nd July and then 20 minutes on his comeback after a hamstring problem, before he broke down against Raith Rovers in the Fife Cup at the end of August.

Nick is getting nearer to the squad having joined them in the warm up both at Easter Road and St Mirren Park but he has found it unbearably frustrating watching from the sidelines knowing that he can do nothing to help. Now the lengthy Pars injury list probably means that he will be back in the first team squad maybe quicker than he could have imagined.

He left his long term gym companion Steven Bell to join the others in training just over a week ago but laments the lack of practice matches:-

"It is disappointing that there is no reserve league because it would have been nice to get some game time under your belt. Whether I am ready or not is up to the gaffer but it is great just to be back with the boys, doing the pre match and the warm ups. It gets you back into the feel of things."

After playing for three seasons in the First Division Nick can#t wait to return to SPL football. His only previous SPL experience totals 137 minutes in three matches near the end of season 2005-06. He made his first team debut when he came on as a substitute for Mark Burchill at Tynecastle then a week later, at the age of just 17, he became the youngest ever player to start in the SPL for the Pars when he turned out in the 0-0 draw against Falkirk in April 2006.