Goalkeeper Rory Watson is continuing nicely along his road to recovery and hopes to stake a claim to be the Iron's first choice keeper next season.
The 23-year-old has been out injured since August after sustaining a broken arm in the 2-2 draw against Barnsley at Glanford Park.
Watson then suffered a setback and had to go under the knife again for the second time when it was discovered that he had also ruptured a tendon in his right wrist in February, an injury which ruled him out for the rest of the season.
However, the goalkeeper played the first 45 minutes of our final behind-closed-doors friendly of the season against Sheffield United, and provided an update on the recovery.
He said: "It's going good. I'm finally starting to see light at the end of the tunnel now.
"I've had a setback because I had to have a second operation on my wrist as I had a ruptured tendon.
"It was ripping to shreds every time I tried catching the ball, so that wasn't great, but now I've finally got that sorted out, I'm close to getting back fit."
It's been a frustrating year for Watson, who had looked set to establish himself between the sticks following a long-term injury to fellow goalkeeper Matt Gilks.
He says it's been difficult to have to sit and watch from the sidelines for the majority of the season, but the ‘keeper is excited about the prospect of returning to the team in time for the next campaign.
He added: "It's been tough, but that's the way it is in football sometimes unfortunately.
"The first four or five weeks were quite difficult because I couldn't do an awful lot.
"It was just a case of sitting there and eating lots of rubbish to make me feel better, but once I got past that, I could start doing more again.
"Injuries are tough both mentally and physically. You have to set yourself little landmarks along the way and look to try and hit them.
"At the start of the season, it looked like it could have been my breakthrough year, so it's been even tougher in that regard, but now I've got to look ahead to next season and go again."
He continued: "I've got to work hard now. I'll come back in pre-season and hopefully try to be stronger and fitter than I've ever been before.
"I've got to look forward and not worry about anything else other than getting my head down and working hard, so I can try get back in the team and keep my spot.
"It's going to be a bit tougher after being injured for such a long time, but I'm just looking forward to getting back to pre-season and trying to stake a claim for being number one again."
Pre-season is vital for any player, but Watson stated the extra significance and importance of it for himself after being out of action for much of the campaign.
The goalkeeper said: "Pre-season will be massive. I'll be striving to get back to being 100 per cent fit.
"As a goalkeeper, hopefully I can start diving again and I'll look to have a good pre-season.
"It feels like I've already had three months of pre-season because I've been out running around and doing lots of gym work.
"However, doing that has made me the fittest I've ever been, and I feel good and ready to get back out there on the pitch."
Watson will be looking to challenge for the goalkeeping jersey again, after getting back on the grass in recent weeks.
The goalkeeper is delighted to be around the team and the coaching staff again, being his usual chirpy character on and off the pitch.
He added: "It's good to be back out with the lads doing what I love to do.
"You can do as many gym sessions as you want, but they are not too much fun, so it's nice to be back with the boys, catching balls and diving around like a mad man again!"
He concluded: “The main aim is to be ready for the next season.
"I should be raring to go for pre-season and hopefully I'll be ready to start the first game of the season next year."