Ashton on the Mend

The official West Ham website published an update on Dean Ashton's recovery today. In the article Ashton reveals he made slow recovery after returning from specialist treatment in Manchester but now is beginning to see an end to his injury,

"The last couple of weeks have been really good, though. That stiffness has gone and I'm moving on to bigger and better things in my rehabilitation now. It's not a lot of work, but it is very hard work, and I'm putting in long days and long hours. It's been worthwhile, though, because I am finally over the worst.

I can see my progress now and, by the doing these exercises, I can get a feel for how the ankle is improving. It's all building up to actually running, which I hope to do sooner rather than later. It's a case of getting to that stage next, and then I will really be able to push on."

Head physio Steve Allen confirmed that Ashton is on the mend,

"Dean is doing extremely well and we are delighted with his progress. He is now up to a level where we are trying to get him to take load through his ankle joint, in the form of low level plyometric work - single-leg hopping, bounding, cross-over hopping, and speed ladder drills.

He is at exactly the level we hoped he would be by this stage, and I am confident that he will be jogging very soon."

Alan Pardew is quoted on TEAMtalk saying he expects Ashton to be available soon after Christmas.

"I expect him to be very close to that new year's game."