Raith Rovers have given an injury update on four of their stars who have been missing for significant periods of time.
The Kirkcaldy club kick off their season at home to Peterhead in the Premier Sports Cup on Wednesday – and like many others they do so with a tight squad.
Manager Ian Murray has been one of many to say how slow the transfer market has been this summer.
Another reason the Raith Rovers squad is a little light in places is down to the absence of four key players due to injury.
Liam Dick, Scott Brown and Tom Lang
The likes of left-back Liam Dick and Scott Brown – who describes himself as a box-to-box midfielder but is willing to play anywhere – have been used as auxiliary centre-halves over preseason.
It means the return of defender Tom Lang, 25, who had an operation on his left anterior cruciate ligament in March, will be crucial for the season ahead.
Speaking to the club’s official website, physiotherapist Stewart Duff said Lang is “currently working on single leg knee strength, and has just started plyometric training with a plan to start running in four weeks”.
Matthews captained the side to glory last season’s SPFL Trust Trophy and his surgery was for the “correction of a retracted/dislocated metatarsophalangeal joint [toe knuckle]”.
The 26-year-old is set to rejoin training between the end of next month and the start of next September.
Fellow midfielder Spencer, also 26, was a key part of the side’s form in the early parts of last season and his absence was sorely missed from December.
He returned towards the end of the campaign before his contract expired.
He re-signed shortly after the appointment of Murray but now finds himself in a ‘moon boot’.
Rovers snatched a point in last night's Fife Derby through a late @Brad_Spencer goal 👊#cinchChamp | @RaithRovers pic.twitter.com/ReILtjaOWI
— SPFL (@spfl) October 27, 2021
Spencer has had “a complex procedure to his mid foot, with a pin placed into the base of his fifth metatarsal”.
He is also expected to return in the period between the end of August and the beginning of the following month.
Lewis Vaughan
The most eagerly awaited return is that of Lewis Vaughan – whose luck with fitness is well-documented.
After an operation on his anterior cruciate ligament in October last year and steady rehab he had a “tidy up” on his knee last month.
This caused a delay in his return to training and he now is expected to join in at the end of September.
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