Livingston manager David Martindale believes injured defender Tom Parkes could be set for a return to training by the end of next month.
But the gaffer insists they need to wary of pushing him too soon.
The 30-year-old hasn’t featured for the Lions since December 2021 due to a knee injury that required surgery in the summer.
At the time, Martindale hinted that he may miss the entire season but it now looks likely that he could pull the boots on again before the end of the campaign.
Speaking to the Courier, Martindale said: “Tom is earmarked to return to training at the end of February but we really need to be careful.
“He’s going through a six-week rehab phase just now and then it will probably be another six weeks training with me but hopefully he can get some reserve team action or get himself on the bench.
“What I will say is that he’s very robust now in terms of the physical mechanics. He’s worked extremely hard and I have absolutely no qualms that when we get him back to the cardio and fitness levels that we’ll avoid a re-occurrence.
“He’s got a lot more power in his body and his knee feels as strong as it ever has done so we’re all quite happy with how things are going.”
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