Dunfermline have been handed a huge boost after Matty Todd was given the green light to make his first appearance of the campaign.
And he could even make that long-awaited outing in this weekend’s trip to face Partick Thistle.
The influential midfielder has been sidelined since breaking his collarbone in the first pre-season game of the summer against East Fife back in June.
The 23-year-old opted to undergo surgery to have a plate inserted to strengthen his clavicle.
However, the procedure lengthened his expected recovery time and he has been left kicking his heels waiting for clearance to make his comeback.
The fans’ favourite finally got that following a meeting with a specialist on Monday evening.
Todd has been able to keep up his fitness and ball work, and has even been seen going through training drills with Dunfermline on match days.
But he has been banned from any contact sessions until further check-ups were completed.
With that final hurdle cleared, the highly-rated attacker will come into contention for a place in the squad for Saturday’s trip to Firhill if he comes through training unscathed this week.
Nightmare spell for midfielder Todd
It hopefully puts an end to a nightmare spell for the former Fife Elite academy graduate.
After an appendix operation and a procedure on his nose, Todd was forced to go under the knife for a third time when he picked up an ankle injury last summer.
A hamstring issue further hampered his campaign and he managed just 18 league appearances all season.
Determined to hit the ground running this term following his fourth operation in little over a year, he was devastated to be ruled out again.
However, after last Friday’s Fife derby win over Raith Rovers lifted the Pars off the bottom and up to seventh in the Championship table, Todd’s return will be another pick-me-up for James McPake’s side.
Speaking to Courier Sport last month, Todd said: “The last 18 months have been really, really tough. This one was probably the toughest of them all.
“Just the fact I came in at the start of the season looking to have a good year.
“I came in fit and ready to go – and the first pre-season game took that all right away from me.
“So, it was definitely a tough month or so after the injury.
“But I’m back in about it now and really looking forward to what’s ahead.”
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