ANTHONY Forde is making good progress in his recovery - but the nature of the injury means Oxford United are still unable to give an accurate return date.

The winger spent several days in hospital last month after breaking four ribs and puncturing a lung in a challenge against Shrewsbury Town.

He is now back around the U's training ground and head coach Karl Robinson is optimistic about the 26-year-old's rehabilitation.

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But given the unusual damage, it is a waiting game.

The head coach said: "I think his recovery has been positive. He won’t be as long as we thought so we’ll look to welcoming another decent player back to our squad.

"Because of the type of injury we’ve never really nailed ourselves down to an exact time.

"It’s a case of has the lung healed, are the bones healing properly, are there still cracks?

"This is not just a normal muscle injury where you can generally put a decent timescale on it. This is internal organs we’re dealing with as well.

"He’s just getting on with it and the things he can do, like the bike. He’s a fit boy, so it’s not like he’ll lose a lot."