Ian Murray is hopeful Lewis Vaughan will be available for the start of Raith Rovers’ league campaign.
But the Stark’s Park boss admits the fans’ favourite is likely to still be short of full fitness until nearing the end of next month.
Vaughan has been absent for all of Raith’s pre-season preparations and Premier Sports Cup ties so far.
The 28-year-old has a groin complaint that Murray has admitted could be a hangover from last term’s exertions.
The star forward netted 19 times in 48 appearances as Rovers pushed Dundee United close in the Championship title race before losing to Ross County in the Premiership play-off final.
It was the most he had played in his career over one campaign, with his 45 games in 2017/18 coming closest.
For context, Vaughan had played only 48 times in the previous three seasons due to the latest of his well-documented problems with four serious knee injuries.
However, he has been stepping up his recovery in recent days under the watchful gaze of the Stark’s Park medical team and Murray is optimistic for the league opener against Airdrie on August 3.
“Lewis is just working away with the physio in rehab at the moment,” he told Courier Sport. “He’s obviously missed all our pre-season but he’s progressing really well.
“It’s probably the best we could have hoped for, if we’re being truthful on it, because there’s been no setbacks.
Murray: ‘Get him up to speed’
“But we have to get him up to speed as well with his fitness.
“That will take us another couple of weeks.
“If we can try and get him ready, hopefully, for the first league game, to be in our squad, then that’s kind of our aim.
“Then, after that, it’s hard because he’ll have missed the League Cup games and all the friendly games.
“He needs to find that groove again and you only do that by playing.
“Even though he’ll be fully-fit, hopefully, by the middle of next week, it’ll probably take him another couple of weeks to be fully ready.”
Meanwhile, Murray is hopeful defender Callum Hannah will flourish on loan at Montrose.
The 19-year-old was farmed out to the Gable Endies last week and made an instant debut in the cup encounter with Motherwell last Tuesday.
He will spend the season at Links Park in Stewart Petrie’s squad.
“Callum was one we had ear-marked for a loan,” he said. “We just wanted to get him as many game minutes and games as we can.
‘A really good move for everybody’
“We thought it was a really good move for everybody – for Callum, Montrose and ourselves.
“We know Stewart and his squad really well and, personally, I think Montrose will probably be there or thereabouts in their division to try to win it.
“So, it’s a really good place for him to go and he still trains with us during the week as well.
“It’s a big step-up for Callum, when he thinks back to this time last year and he wasn’t even in with us yet.
“And now he’s potentially playing at the top end of League One.”
