John McGlynn is hopeful there will be ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ imminently as luckless midfielder Ross Matthews continues to battle back from a toe injury.
Matthews, 25, was restricted to just four appearances in the final two months of the 2020/21 campaign due to the persistent problem.
He suffered a recurrence of the issue last month and has played no part this season, with McGlynn recently telling Courier Sport that he ‘had absolutely no idea’ when Matthews will next represent the Rovers.
However, the Stark’s Park boss hopes to have more clarity in that regard once Matthews undergoes the next step in his treatment today (Wednesday).
“Ross [Matthews] is having a slight procedure on Wednesday which should give us a little light at the end of the tunnel, or certainly more indication of how things stand,” said McGlynn.
“Hopefully, we can get some clarity on the back of that.
“It’s been a really frustrating time for him. Ross is not one who is often injured and he doesn’t take it particularly well.
“He’s such an action-packed guy and wants to be involved, and that’s made it a challenging time for him — while we would also have liked to have him available.
“But hopefully we are close to getting to the bottom of it.”
‘A winner; a talker; an organiser’
Far better news on the fitness front came at the weekend when Tom Lang took his place on the Rovers bench for the first time since joining the club from Clyde during the close-season.
The former Rangers and Dunfermline kid did not enter the fray against Alloa but is back in full training — and is already catching McGlynn’s eye.
“Tom had a little bit of a tidy up operation and we thought he would be back a lot quicker but it turned out that wasn’t quite the case — but those things happen,” McGlynn told Courier Sport.
“It was nice to get him back in training and he is really looking the part.
“He is exactly what I thought I’d be signing. He’s a winner; a talker; an organiser — and he has a real physicality about him.
“We are in the process of getting a game sorted for next week to get Tom some minutes in a match situation.”