Shrewsbury Town striker Lenell John-Lewis set for Christmas

John-Lewis, 30, picked up a serious knee injury in the 1-1 FA Cup draw with Stoke in January and was initially ruled out for 12 months, but Ricketts confirmed he was back in training ahead of schedule.

However, he says caution is key to ensure the forward does not pick up another injury as he ups his return from an ACL injury.

He said: “He has made really good progress, gradually stepping into training.

“Seeing where he is up too, it will just take a long time to get back into the rhythm once he is back in full training. He has worked incredibly hard and he is getting the benefits of that.

“He is back training, not 100 per cent, but he is not a million miles away.

“He is eager and ready to push on but you have to put the reins on him a little bit to make sure he does not re-injure himself.

“He is not a million miles away.

“That is why he has come back ahead of schedule really because he is that keen and worked so hard to get back in.

“It is certainly good to have him about.”

Right-back Ryan Sears, 20, is also back on the grass as he joins John-Lewis in recovering from an ACL injury sustained in a freak training incident in April.

He said: “Ryan is out on the grass, running and doing straight line things. We don’t really want him twisting and turning, but he is making good progress.

“It is just disappointing for him.

“I think he performed really well before he got injured and was just forcing his way to be a regular before he got that freak injury really.

“The good thing is he has had Lenny to work alongside to keep him going and keep him positive.”

Romain Vincelot was also celebrating successful hip resurfacing surgery, but Ricketts is hopeful striker Dan Udoh is not joining him in the recovery room.

Udoh will be assessed ahead of today’s game against Sunderland after limping off in the 30th minute of the Shrews’ 1-1 draw with Gillingham in midweek due to a medial ligament tweak.

Ricketts says it is a case of waiting for scan results before they know if he will miss Saturday’s home clash with the Black Cats.

But defender Ethan Ebanks-Landell has been ruled out of that game due to his hamstring injury.

Ricketts said: “(Dan Udah) is a bit swollen but hoping to bounce back and see how it is in the next 24 hours.

“We will see how it is.

“He did go for a scan as a precaution, we are just waiting on the results of that before we know the exact timings really.

He added on Ebanks-Landell: “You have to be careful with a hamstring.

“I don’t want to rush him (Ebanks-Landell) and force him out for another three or four weeks or so, so we will have to be cautious.

“He has not returned to full training but we will have to be cautious about putting him in danger of re-injury.”

While Ricketts says on-loan Wigan forward Callum Lang will just have to be patient as he also ups his recovery from a broken metatarsal.

He said: “Callum Lang is OK.

“His biggest problem is his foot is in a cast and he cannot get a sock over it so his toes are getting cold!

“There is not much you can do.”It is a fracture that has been pinned so it is just allowing the body time to naturally heal.

“The cast will be coming off in the next week or so, he will go into a boot and then it is waiting for the bone to heal.

“That is the side that you cannot do anything about and he will have to get his head around that and be patient.”