After suffering a pre-season injury against Barrow, club captain Adam Lockwood admits he is not far off returning to light training.
The defender picked up the injury under no pressure against the Conference North side in July which has ruled him out of all action thus far this season.Lockwood, who was appointed club captain during the summer, admits he is close to returning but is wary of the injury coming back.
He said: "Everything is going to plan. I am a little bit ahead of schedule. With it being an injury that isn't well known we have to be careful with it. I should be able to run in a couple of weeks and then it's a case of getting fit and getting back in contention for selection.
"It felt like a gun shot underneath my foot and they say it's a similar feeling to snapping your achillies. Hopefully I'll be back as soon as possible. It's an unusual injury so there isn't really a timescale to the injury so as long as it keeps progressing and hopefully I'll be back as soon as."
The 32-year-old explained his rehabilitation programme, stating: "I've had to take weight off my foot so I feel like I've turned into an Olympic swimmer! I'm hopefully starting on a treadmill next week so I hope it reacts well to that.
Whilst injured, Lockwood has been assisting the first team, watching the game from an analysist point of view and is happy to be contributing to the team's good form.
"I've tried to be as useful as I can and pass on as much knowledge and experience that I have. I've been watching games and getting a different view which has benefitted everyone.
"I can speak to the lads about what they are doing in games and I can also assist the manager in telling him a few things. I still feel part of the squad and that's kept me going. Sometimes you can feel a little isolated when you're injured but I've played my part and hopefully I've been doing that."
Watch the full interview on Latics Player.