Connor Randall insists he is on course for a comeback in Ross County’s return to Premiership action next month.
Right-back Randall has been sidelined since August 6, when he suffered a leg fracture in a 3-1 home defeat to Celtic.
Having come through his rehabilitation process, Randall returned to training with the rest of the Staggies’ squad earlier this week.
Randall will be part of County’s travelling party on Sunday, as the Dingwall outfit prepare for a five-day training camp in Spain.
The Englishman plans to use the camp to his advantage, in his efforts to return to action against St Johnstone on December 17.
Randall said: “I am looking to drop into training properly this week and then take it from there.
“Hopefully if everything goes to plan, I’ll be ready for the St Johnstone game after the World Cup.
“I have to get the fitness up, but the next few weeks will be helpful with that and I want to make sure I’m available for selection when the league starts up again.
“Spain will be massive for me, because you work hard here, but going over there, with the facilities and the hotel, it will be a chance to get a really solid week.
“It’s the perfect timing for me so I’m looking forward to it.”
Johnson has stepped up to mark
During Randall’s absence, summer signing Callum Johnson has stepped into the right back position.
The 26-year-old has been a consistent performer in the Staggies’ backline, drawing praise from manager Malky Mackay.
Randall insists he is ready for the challenge of competing for his place.
He added: “Being injured is always frustrating, when you’re not playing there’s nothing worse.
“Watching from the stands is difficult, but, especially at this club, you are always made to feel part of things.
“Callum has been in a good run of form, the whole team have been playing well in the last few weeks.
“It is a good squad here and everyone is supportive of each other.
“The break probably came at a bad time for the team, because of the form we’d hit, but it’s a chance to get ready for the second part of the season.”
County ready to push on after break
Although Randall has spent the bulk of the campaign on the sidelines, he is well up to speed with how his side has performed so far.
The Staggies signed off for the World Cup break on a relative high note, with two wins from their final three matches and a narrow defeat to champions Celtic.
Former Liverpool defender Randall is confident the Staggies can kick on following the restart next month.
Randall added: “I have watched enough games this season so have seen how the team has been coming along.
“There has definitely been progress. We had a difficult start not picking up points, but we had that last year as well.
“The manager believes in us, so we always knew it would come and you’re seeing that now.
“Hopefully we can have a strong start when we get going again.
“If you put a couple of good results together in this league, you can claw things back and we managed to do that.
“The two wins before we played Celtic were massive for us and the performance against them was also very good.
“I thought that was probably one of the best performances in a long time and it meant we finished on a bit of a high – even though it was a defeat.
“We have the teams in front of us within touching distance of us, so we believe we can get right back into it in the games ahead of us.”
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