'Positive sign': Huddersfield Town boss Michael Duff provides encouraging update on injured defender
HUDDERSFIELD Town head coach Michael Duff has reported a positive development in the rehabilitation work of defender Radinio Balker, who has taken a key psychological and physical step in his road to recovery.
The Dutchman suffered a serious ankle injury in the second half of Town’s pre-season friendly with Harrogate Town in mid-July - and subsequently underwent surgery.
He will not be back in first-team contention until the new year.
Duff, whose side welcome Exeter City in League One on Saturday, said: "It’s good to see Rads on the grass.
"He’s on his own with the physios, but he’s running, which is a positive.
"He’s not on the AlterG (anti-gravity treadmill) now, he’s running (with) full weight bearing.
"He’s still a couple of months away, but it’s a positive sign."
Town report no fresh injury issues from the impressive midweek draw at high-flying Wrexham, when they became the first side to take away anything from the Racecourse Ground since mid-March.
Michal Helik, Josh Koroma, Lee Nicholls and Joe Hodge are all sidelined alongside Lasse Sorensen, who will be out for ‘six to eight weeks’ after injuring his hamstring early on in last weekend’s 3-1 home victory over Bristol Rovers last weekend.
Duff added: "Obviously, we get the numbers and letters of the grade, which I can’t exactly remember. But I am expecting him to miss eight weeks and anything before that is a bonus.
"It’s disappointing and it’s hard to put a finger on it because it’s not a fatigue injury. It’s a bit like the Micha (Helik) one.
"Sometimes, you look: ‘have they done too much in the week’ and ‘is it a fatigue element, have we done too much.
"Micha took a knock and Lasse’s was just a mechanism of going into a sprint and he felt it go a little bit."