Joe Riley 'over the moon' as he nears Shrewsbury Town return
Shrewsbury Town defender Joe Riley has expressed his delight as he nears a first-team return for Shrewsbury Town.
The 25-year-old has made his return to training following his horror injury on the last day of the season against Oxford United.
But after an intense summer of rehabilitation working closely with physio Chris Skitt, the 25-year-old has finally been able to join in Paul Hurst’s training sessions.
And he's thrilled to have made his return after a testing period through the off-season.
"I’m over the moon" Riley said, via Shrewsburytown.com.
"It’s been a long three or four months, but I am glad that I am back in training.
"I just want to say a massive thank you to all the staff. Skitty is brilliant at his job and he’s got me back in alright nick, so I’m ready to go.
“You become close with the medical guys and Skitty is a funny lad, which is nice. I come in and I enjoy it every day. It is hard work, but you can see yourself getting closer every day, which is great.
“I think Skitty said September in terms of full training, so we have done well in terms of that. It feels great to be back out there, training and flying into tackles.”
The full-back has dealt with injuries before, but the broken fibula and ligament damage he picked up in the clash at Oxford United has provided a stern test, but one he seems to have passed with flying colours so far.
“I’ve had injuries in the past, but there’s nothing you can do with tackles like that”, Riley said.
“I think it was a genuine tackle. Chris Maguire text me after the game and wished me all the best with my recovery, so that was nice of him. The positive thing is I haven’t really missed much football, so timing wise it couldn’t have been much better.
“The manager’s been brilliant. I went down to Wimbledon last weekend because he didn’t want me to feel segregated. He’s always made me feel part of the team and I think that is what has been great so far in that everyone feels part of the team and there is a real unity in the squad.”
Despite his absence, Salop have started the season strongly, and James Bolton has filled in at full-back with some impressive displays in blue and amber - so much so that he's relishing doing battle for the spot upon Riley's return.
But the ex-Bolton Wanderers trainee admits that he's been excited watching Salop begin the season so well.
"I was watching on Saturday at Wimbledon and I was almost purring at times, it was brilliant." He said.
“I’ve not seen us play like that since, I’ve been here, so long may that continue. You’ve got to just take it game by game in this league.
“We’ve got a winning formula and we know what we are now. We are a hard working team and when we are at it we can keep winning games in this league, so hopefully we can keep proving that.”
