In November, Ryan Colclough’s season was over after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at Bristol Rovers away, but the winger feels his recovery is progressing well.
The 24-year-old, who had started the game positively at the Memorial Stadium, dribbled the ball into the area before he performed a step over and went down in agony.
Colclough was told he would be sidelined for nine months with a serious knee injury, making a full return around August time.
However, he aims to get back sooner and has recently started running again, hoping that he can take part in pre-season training over the summer.
“It is going really well now,” said Colclough.
“At the start, it was progressing slowly and I wasn’t really getting the improvements I was expecting.
“Over the last two-to-three months, I have got some great results and I have built up my leg back to what it was before.
“It is all about making it as strong as I can now. That will give me a good three-to-four months of running before pre-season.”
Before his injury, Colclough was a key figure in the Iron team with his skills, creativity and pace.
He joined Scunthorpe on August transfer deadline day from Championship side Wigan Athletic and scored three goals in 21 games in the early stages of the campaign.
The winger said: “The whole point of me coming to sign for Scunthorpe was to be a big part in the team.
“I was playing every game, playing really well and enjoying myself, so that was probably the worst thing, knowing that I wasn’t going to be playing for a long period of time.
“Against Bristol Rovers we started really well and I was confident. I ran into the box and did a step over and before I knew it, my leg had gone all the way backwards and my weight was over it.
“I knew straight away that I had done something serious with the pain I was in and it scared me a bit.”
Colclough admitted that he struggled to come to terms with his injury at the beginning, but he has seen improvements recently, explaining that the surgeon has also been happy with his recovery.
“I have got to grips with things now and I am starting to see improvements,” said the former Crewe player.
“I suffered a lot mentally for the first two months and all sorts of things were running through my head because I haven’t been doing what I love.
“We train all week for that end goal of impressing the fans and getting three points at the weekend.
“When you are not playing, you’re putting in a lot of work and not getting the reward of going out to play the sport that we love.”
The objective now for Colclough is to continue with his running sessions, so he can improve his fitness and strength to hopefully get back sooner.
Colclough said: “Now it is about easing myself back in.
“I have been doing a lot of leg weights and a lot of work on my balance – I’m just trying to make my leg as strong as possible.”
He continued: “As long as the first running sessions go okay, I will be looking to go outside every day and as I get better with my running, get fitter and stronger, the balls will start being introduced.
“When I first got the injury, I said to myself that I wanted to come back fitter and stronger and play as well as I can, hopefully giving the team more than what I was giving them before.
“I have got a really good mindset at the moment and I just can’t wait until I am back on the pitch again.”
He added: “I had my operation on 6th December and it is about nine months from there.
“Things are going really well at the moment and they are hoping I will be back a few weeks earlier, which means I can take part in pre-season training and hopefully catch the back end of some friendlies.
“I am not trying to think too much about that because there could be a setback or things could go even better and I get back sooner.
“I just want to keep working hard and then I am sure I can be back within that time frame and be ready for the start of next season.”