BLUES boss Neil Young today revealed that Ashley Williams is only a few weeks away from a return to action.
Midfielder Williams has been sidelined since breaking his collarbone in Chester’s 1-0 league defeat at Hednesford Town in August.
He joined Chester from Welsh League club Airbus in January last year and was rushed to hospital after sustaining the injury at Keys Park, but he has been working hard behind the scenes in his bid to recover from his setback.
The 24-year-old joined last season’s top striker Michael Wilde on the sidelines who broke his collarbone in a pre-season match, and new signing Levi Mackin also experienced an identical injury on his home debut against Hednesford last month.
Chester have managed to maintain their position at the head of the Premier Division table despite suffering a number of casualties and having players sidelined with suspensions, and Young said: “We have had our fair share of injuries this season with Ashley, Michael and Levi all suffering broken collarbones.
“It’s good to see Michael back in the squad after his injury in pre-season, and I’m delighted to say that Ashley is now only about six weeks away from being available for selection.
“It will be a big boost for the club when Ashley returns to action. He has been doing a little bit of light training with the squad but nothing that has presented a physical challenge yet.
“We’re hoping to see him benefitting from getting a little bit more confidence with his shoulder, but we’re not going to rush him back.
“Levi is still recovering, but it will be good to have Ashley back as we target a memorable run of results towards the end of the season.”
Chester, who remain three points clear at the top of the league table, are preparing to entertain Stafford Rangers this Saturday after seeing last weekend’s scheduled league match at Chorley postponed due to a frozen pitch.
Young added: “It’s great to see Chester sitting pretty at the top of the league table at the moment, but I’m hoping that’s the same situation in May when it really matters.
“Unfortunately no club picks up silverware by being top in February, but we’ve been on a great run of form despite producing a few sloppy performances recently.
“I’m hoping we can push on and capitalise on getting a few players back from injury and suspension.
“We must now win as many games as we can so that our nearest challengers run out of games to try and catch us.
“It’s important that we try and concentrate on what we do rather than look and see where other clubs are in the league table.”
Defender Wes Baynes and midfielder Michael Powell are expected to be included in Chester’s squad for this Saturday’s fixture after serving three-game suspensions having been dismissed in Boxing Day’s match at Northwich Victoria.
Young had tried to arrange a behind closed doors friendly match last night against West Cheshire League club Cammell Laird in an attempt to hand Baynes and Powell an opportunity to improve their match fitness.