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Stuart Holden will return to England next month with Dougie Freedman hopeful he can resume training at Wanderers in the early part of 2014.
News is good from across the pond, with the US international’s rehabilitation from a cruciate ligament injury now in its advanced stages.
Freedman has barely had a chance to see the midfielder in full flow since taking over at the Reebok.
After battling back from two years on the sidelines with two serious injuries, Holden was only able to play a bit-part last season before being loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday.
Disaster then struck after a successful summer of international football, with Holden suffering a knee injury playing against Panama just five minutes into the Gold Cup Final in July.
But there may be a silver lining on the horizon for the popular 27-year-old and Freedman is looking forward to bringing him back to the fold to check on his progress.
“I’m in contact with Stuart and he’s doing well,” Freedman said. “We do know he is set to come back over here in the near future.
“We’re expecting to see him just before Christmas.
“We obviously need to make sure his comeback isn’t rushed and that everything is okay.
“On the phone he sounds in good spirits, but that’s the kind of guy he is.
“When he comes back he’s going to spend a month or so with us so that we can make sure the rehabilitation is being done in the right way.
“The plan then is for over the Christmas period and into January he’ll head back over to the States to make sure the guys who are doing his rehab are fully up to speed.
“Then when he’s at a good level hopefully we can look at reintroducing him to training into the early part of the year.”
Mark Davies is even closer to a return and Freedman revealed he returned to training on Thursday for a half-session with the squad.
The midfielder has been missing since February with a knee injury but is pencilled in to return by the end of the year.
“I reckon after the international break in two week’s time we’ll have him back in full training with us, and that means he’s five weeks away from getting a proper kick of the ball,” Freedman added.
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News is good from across the pond, with the US international’s rehabilitation from a cruciate ligament injury now in its advanced stages.
Freedman has barely had a chance to see the midfielder in full flow since taking over at the Reebok.
After battling back from two years on the sidelines with two serious injuries, Holden was only able to play a bit-part last season before being loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday.
Disaster then struck after a successful summer of international football, with Holden suffering a knee injury playing against Panama just five minutes into the Gold Cup Final in July.
But there may be a silver lining on the horizon for the popular 27-year-old and Freedman is looking forward to bringing him back to the fold to check on his progress.
“I’m in contact with Stuart and he’s doing well,” Freedman said. “We do know he is set to come back over here in the near future.
“We’re expecting to see him just before Christmas.
“We obviously need to make sure his comeback isn’t rushed and that everything is okay.
“On the phone he sounds in good spirits, but that’s the kind of guy he is.
“When he comes back he’s going to spend a month or so with us so that we can make sure the rehabilitation is being done in the right way.
“The plan then is for over the Christmas period and into January he’ll head back over to the States to make sure the guys who are doing his rehab are fully up to speed.
“Then when he’s at a good level hopefully we can look at reintroducing him to training into the early part of the year.”
Mark Davies is even closer to a return and Freedman revealed he returned to training on Thursday for a half-session with the squad.
The midfielder has been missing since February with a knee injury but is pencilled in to return by the end of the year.
“I reckon after the international break in two week’s time we’ll have him back in full training with us, and that means he’s five weeks away from getting a proper kick of the ball,” Freedman added.
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