IAN Moore today handed Burnley a massive injury boost by returning to full time training.

The Clarets striker has so far managed just one hour of football this pre-season - at Accrington Stanley - after spraining an ankle early in the Turf Moor friendly against Dundee United.

Since, then he has been forced to sit out the home game with Everton and the 1-1 draw with Wacker Burghausen that kicked off the Clarets Austrian training trip.

But Moore has made steady progress since Tuesday's game and declared himself ready to join in with the rest of the squad as they were put through their paces in glorious sunshine.

However, manager Steve Cotterill is frustratingly still playing a waiting game with fellow striker Robbie Blake, who again sat out training today.

Last season's 22-goal hitman is still carrying a slight hamstring strain that Cotterill is not prepared to risk with the kick-off to the First Division season now just over a week away.

The Clarets chief said: "We've been waiting a while for Ian to get back up to speed and that's a nice little boost.

"But Robbie isn't training yet as a precautionary measure. I'm not panicking about the situation. That's just how it is for now."

Both Blake and Moore will have benefited from a day off yesterday, when Cotterill treated the squad to an afternoon of white-water rafting.

The fun day was designed to break up the monotony of intense training. And new boy Micah Hyde believes the trip will also serve to strengthen the spirit in the Clarets camp ahead of a gruelling season.

He said: "There's a lot of banter in pre-season, a lot of hard work and lots of fun.

"The gaffer introduced that with the fun day we had yesterday, and you need days like that for team bonding, especially with the new manager.

"I've done things like that before, like paint-balling and go-karting with Watford.

"And you definitely need that because no-one wants to keep just having to work hard all the time.

"Don't get me wrong, we're fortunate to be footballers and we get paid to run around. But days like that put you in good stead for the season."