FRUSTRATED Steve Halford's road to recovery is longer than he first hoped.

Initial scans suggested the Accrington Stanley central defender would only be sidelined for up to six weeks after he suffered a broken leg at home to Crawley Town earlier this season.

However, Halford is already eight weeks down the line and is still up to a fortnight away from being able to join in contact training.

"It's frustrating seeing all the lads training and not being able to join in," he said.

"It's a blow because I did all the pre-season, which I hated, but I got myself quite fit. But now it's like another pre-season for me.

"I can join in a few of the exercises, like finishing, but anything where there's contact in training I have to sit it out."

However, Halford is seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

"I'm hoping to play a reserve game, or even half a game, sometime in the next fortnight and try to get myself back in contention for when we play Exeter on November 6," he said.