Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Jamie O'Hara hopes he is close to returning from his double hernia operation.
Midfielder returns to kicking footballs; Kightly up for the fight
Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Jamie O'Hara hopes he is close to returning from his double hernia operation.
The 25-year-old, whose loan move from Tottenham was last June made permanent, was ruled out for a month in December after going under the knife.
But O'Hara has now started kicking footballs again and, although he has some problems with long-range shooting, he is optimistic his recovery is on track.
The ex-Portsmouth player has not featured for relegation-threatened Wolves since the defeat at Manchester United on 10th December and his return would be a boost for Mick McCarthy.
O'Hara said on his
Twitter account: "Kicking a ball today, feel good, I've ticked every box just the long striking where I'm still getting problems, not far away from now."
Meanwhile, winger Michael Kightly insists Wolves have enough quality to survive in the Premier League, despite dropping into the bottom three for the first time this season.
A 3-2 home defeat to Aston Villa extended their run without a league win to eight games, from which they have collected only four points.
Dogfight
There were even internet rumours circulating among fans that manager McCarthy was about to be sacked, although club sources have since strongly dismissed those claims.
Kightly said: "I don't think dropping into the bottom three for the first time will affect us psychologically. We've been fighting for months now to stay in the division.
"I don't think the fact we've just dropped into the bottom three makes too much difference. We knew before Saturday's game that we were in a dogfight and we're ready for it. We're not going to lie down and, if we go down, we'll be fighting.
"But I'm sure we have enough in that dressing room to stay in this league. I think we showed we're ready for the challenge. It's time for us all to roll up our sleeves, dig in and fight together to stay in this division."
Kightly scored his first Wolves goal for almost three years against Villa after lengthy injury setbacks.
He said: "I've had a tough two years and that goal was worth every minute of it.
"Hopefully I showed the Wolves fans that Michael Kightly is back and ready to show people I'm a Premier League player."
