Aberdeen Women midfielder Eilidh Shore is hopeful that her impressive run of form will continue when she returns to the pitch after an ankle injury.
Shore came off injured in the 5-1 win against Motherwell, with a knock to the ankle that resulted in some bruising and fluid under the bone.
As a result, she has missed the last two games against Glasgow City and Celtic – the first fixtures of the season the midfielder has not been involved.
Up until Motherwell, Shore had played 90 minutes in every SWPL 1 game, other than the 4-0 victory against Hearts where she was substituted in the 76th minute.
The 20-year-old has been a pivotal player for the Dons contributing with two goals and a number of assists in her six appearances since the Christmas break.
The injury has come at an unfortunate time for Shore, as she reckons she had been putting in some of her best performances of the season before being sidelined.
She said: “I was hitting my best form of the season with the number of goals and assists, but the injury hopefully won’t have set me back.
“Up until this injury, I’ve been good at keeping my fitness up and doing my bit for the team every week.
“It’s nice to have had made a lot of appearances and minutes, but hopefully I’ll get back to full fitness and be back in the squad.
“I’ve only missed two games so it’s not too much, and hopefully I’ll get that form back and help the team out again.”
A return to action at Petershill Park?
Although she has been absent from the pitch in the last two games, Shore has still contributed from the sidelines by lending her support to her teammates.
“You just want to be able to help them – I couldn’t do that from the pitch – but I was trying to do what I could off it,” Shore added.
“Just being there for my teammates and helping them out if they need any support or are struggling.
“I’ve still been with the girls at training and match-days trying to support them, but it’s difficult just being able to watch on.
“It’ll be good to finally get involved again.”
Shore is hopeful that she could be in for some game time on Sunday when Aberdeen travel to Partick Thistle.
The midfielder has been making good progress with her rehabilitation programme and was able to take part in some midweek training.
And if she does take to the pitch at Petershill Park, Shore is hoping she can mark her return with three points.
She added: “It’s one that we’re going into looking to win.
“But we know what Partick Thistle can do, and they know what we’re about.
“They’re going to give us a tough game. They always have – when we played them this season and last year in SWPL 2.
“But if we can play our game and get the three points, it’ll set us up nicely going forward.”
