Iron manager Mark Robins says skipper Stephen Dawson is relieved to have finally got to the bottom of the knee problem which has marred his season so far.
Following an arthroscopy this week, he will return to first team contention at around Christmas time.Writing in his pre-match notes to 12th Man members, Robins explained in full detail: "We know he is a good player and we saw that in pre-season.
"However, he had an operation in April, before he came to the club, which hasn’t settled down well enough.
"He then had an injection to settle that down and we’ve managed that as well as we could do.
"When we took on Wigan, we thought he was right and he thought he was right, but he’s been getting pain and ultimately it’s culminated in him going to see a specialist in London.
"He had MRI scans which haven’t been indicative of the problem. They’ve scanned the knee and everything appeared to be fine from the scans, so he carried on his rehabilitation.
"We had him on the pitch on Monday and he ran but he felt pain, so we sent him to see Andrew Williams (who is arguably one of the best knee surgeons in Europe) on Tuesday and he had to do an arthroscopy, which meant he went into his knee to have a look.
"Everything was okay but it was untidy so it’s been trimmed up. There was an issue in his knee where he was suffering pain. They’ve tidied up his knee so he doesn’t feel that anymore. He will be fine in his recovery but it will take around 12 weeks for him to return to action.
"Thankfully he feels he’s got to the bottom of it. He’s had a little operation but the timescale is extended from a normal arthroscopy because he’s had two arthroscopies in five months.
"There will be no problem with this, he’ll make a good recovery and we’ll have the player back that we signed.
"This is really good news, because even though he’s going to be out for a longer period than we wanted we’ve got to the bottom of what it is and the player is in much better spirits, because he’s been down and fearing for himself.
"He now knows what it is and knows he will have a full career with us – that’s the important thing.
"In spirits he’s back to being Stephen Dawson because he’s been anxious and worried in the last six-to-eight weeks. We’ve got to a point now where he will come back and be the player we know we signed."
Due to issues with the club's CRM system, the 12th Man couldn't be sent out ahead of the Southend game, but Robins also provided an update on Luke Williams and Niall Canavan's returns.
"Luke Williams is running on the grass now," added Robins.
"He will be back training in the group in the next week or so. It’s just how he responds and how he does with all the fitness testing which will determine when he’s back available for selection.
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