Inverness Caley Thistle legend Aaron Doran could return to action in Highland League for Strathspey Thistle in February
Strathspey Thistle could see Aaron Doran take to the field in February according to manager Ryan Esson – but only if the Irishman’s rehab goes perfectly.
The Jags brought in Doran to be a player/assistant to Esson in August, knowing that the Inverness Caledonian Thistle legend was a long way off recovering from an ACL injury sustained at the end of last season.
With delays to his surgery, and therefore to his recovery time, it was always going to be a long shot that he would play again in 2024.
However, supporters may not have to wait too much longer into the new year before seeing Doran in action at Seafield Park, albeit only if he has a smooth road to recovery from here on out.
“There’s a process to the recovery with what his knee injury was, and we’re in that process at the minute,” Esson explained.
“He’s still a good bit away, but we’re hopefully that he will be back a good bit into the new year. If we could get him in mid-to-late February that would be brilliant, and then we would be building for next year really – we can give him game time and see how the knee reacts in training for next season.
“That’s if the rehab goes perfectly, but I’ve been there before.
“I was very close to what Dean Brill’s rehab was, and I was the one who was really advising on how to rehab Deano, so I know how these things can work.
“Some weeks you can push it because he’s feeling good, but others you have to say he’s not doing anything because there’s been a reaction.
“Aaron might not even be fit this season, because it might take a bit longer, but I’m hopeful because he seems to be going really well with it at the minute.
“Where he’s at now, I’m hoping that he can get back on the treadmill in the next two or three weeks to see how he reacts, and once he starts running we can really progress it.
“After two or three weeks of that, we can introduce some ball work, and after that we can build him back into training. Until that point, you have to wait and see how the knee reacts. There isn’t a definitive reaction of how it will go.”
