James McPake having to ‘rein in’ Paul Allan with Dunfermline midfielder ‘itching’ to return

Paul Allan will “be like a new signing” for Dunfermline Athletic when he returns from injury.

That’s according to his manager who praised the midfielder both personally and professionally.

James McPake last week set out when he expects to see Allan return to training.

The 22-year-old was a second-half substitute in the first competitive match of the season versus East Fife.

He played the full 90 for the remaining Premier Sports Cup matches and the opening two League 1 fixtures, setting up Lewis McCann’s header versus FC Edinburgh.

Injury hits

That was early in August and by the time the next match versus Montrose kicked off he was in a moon boot.

“It was a stress fracture in his foot,” said McPake.

“It was either there before or aggravated by a twist in a training session.

“He came back into the session thinking that it was okay but when we got it scanned it showed up.

“He is itching to get going, itching to get back into training and help and be involved in the squad.

“We are having to rein him in a wee bit but as soon as the time is right it will not take him long to get up to speed.”

Boss empathetic

The Pars boss, who knows personally how difficult recovery can be, is wary not to rush the player back.

“We are mindful that we don’t want him to break down because it has been a long period for him mentally as well,” said McPake.

“At the time he thought that he could play on and these are the worst ones.

“I have had injuries where you know when you are on the stretcher coming off and you know that you are going to be out for six months or a year.

“But when it is an injury where you are not quite sure what has actually happened – and you are waiting on a scan or an X-ray that shows an injury that in your head doesn’t feel that bad – you have got to look after it.

“We have had to do that with Paul.”

‘He’s got it’

Allan will face some stiff competition when he returns from Chris Hamilton, Joe Chalmers and Matty Todd.

The latter scored a great goal in the impressive 3-0 win at Alloa Athletic last weekend.

“He will be like a new signing when he comes back because he has not played much,” said McPake.

“He sets standards in training as well so it will be good to get him back when he comes back.

“He’s got it,” added the Pars manager.

“The way he keeps the ball, the way he moves the ball lends it to other players, gets it back – you can play through him.”