PAUL Reid feared that he would miss the first few months of next season, when there was a possibility that his shattered knee-cap would have to be wired together.

Carl Marston

PAUL Reid feared that he would miss the first few months of next season, when there was a possibility that his shattered knee-cap would have to be wired together.

The Colchester United defender suffered the injury during the 2-2 draw at Huddersfield Town on March 3. He has since experienced a whole range of emotions, with many ups and downs along the way.

But Reid has finally been given some good news - he should be back for the new season!

The ex-Carlisle and Barnsley stalwart initially hoped that he would only be out of action for a couple of weeks, until the diagnosis of a broken knee came through. Since then, however, progress has been good.

“To be honest, it's been a very strange injury,” admitted Reid.

“It's been a real rollercoaster for me. It's been a case of wondering how long I'll be out. I just thought that I'd got some bad bruising to start with. The specialist later said that that the cruciate was fine, which was a big relief, but in the next breath he told me that I had broken my knee cap!

“It's been up-and-down since then. Two weeks ago I was worried that I would have to have the knee cap wired together. That would have put me back, but fortunately I've seen the surgeon again and apparently the knee has started to heal by itself, which is another huge relief,” added Reid.

Carlisle-born Reid had been enjoying a fruitful run in the team, alongside Pat Baldwin in the heart of defence, when he suffered his injury blow at Huddersfield. He had started 11 of the previous 12 games, missing just one fixture due to a suspension.

His enforced absence meant a rethink for manager Paul Lambert, who recruited Neal Trotman on loan from Preston as a replacement, as well as giving fellow centre-halves Chris Coyne and Matt Heath rare run-outs during the last few weeks of the season.

The U's eventually finished 12th in the table, and are already looking towards a big improvement next term. Reid expects a few new faces, but not just yet.

“We're still in training three days a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, building up our strength,” continued Reid.

“I am joining in when I can, and otherwise I'm doing a lot of swimming and some jogging.

“There should be a few new faces, though I reckon they'll come in later in the summer. It's still early days at the moment, and some clubs are still involved in the play-offs and so don't even know what division they'll be playing in yet.

“We'll be working hard, and we have a week of hard training planned in Germany in mid-July. That will be tough, but that's how pre-season should be.

“I'm on course to be available for the start of next season. I'd like to be involved in a few of the pre-season games as well, although I might be playing a bit of catch-up,” added Reid.