BLACKBURN Rovers defender Ryan Nelsen is confident he will be fit in time for the start of the new season.
The 28-year-old is making a good recovery from the broken leg he sustained during Rovers' 2-0 win at Charlton last month, and he is hoping to get the go-ahead to step up his rehabilitation programme when he returns to England next week for an X-ray.
The former DC United stopper, who has been in New Zealand for a short holiday, said of his progress: "It's good. The hairline fracture is on a non-weight bearing bone, so I can kind of cruise around on it pretty well.
"I went for a light jog a couple of days ago and it felt fine, so I'm feeling really positive.
"When I get back to England, I'll get it X-rayed and if everything is okay then I can start working hard on getting fit again."
Nelsen didn't realise the full severity of the injury when he first sustained it at The Valley a month ago.
He felt some initial discomfort following a first half challenge with a Charlton player, but still appeared for the second half and managed to play on through the pain for several minutes before finally signalling to the bench that he wasn't fit to continue.
An X-ray, taken 48 hours later, then confirmed the Kiwi had suffered a hairline fracture of his fibula, which meant he missed Rovers' final two games of the season.
"I did it in a tackle with one of the Charlton players about 30 minutes into the game," explained Nelsen, who is due to marry his American fiancee, Monica, in Minnesota next month.
"I lost the feeling in my ankle and felt a tingling sensation so I thought something was up.
"I limped through to half time and then thought it was one of those things I'd be able to run off, but after about five minutes (of the second half) I felt pretty useless and came off.
"We then got the X-rays and it showed a hairline fracture of the fibula. But I haven't had to wear a cast. I've had a splint."
After four weeks of rest and recuperation, Nelsen is hoping to get the green light to resume light training shortly, which means he should be fit to join in pre-season with the rest of the Rovers squad when they return in July.
However, Nelsen won't be ready in time to play in New Zealand's pre-World Cup friendly with Brazil in Geneva on June 4; a match he was looking forward to participating in.
The Kiwi said: "I'm gutted that I can't play against Brazil. That would have been a great experience.
"But I suppose I've been lucky enough to play against them before in my career."
As for next season, Nelsen can't wait to compete in Europe after helping Rovers to a top-six finish and a place in the UEFA Cup.
He added: "It's been an amazing year. Our goal at the start of the season was to get into the UEFA Cup and I think most people probably thought we were stretching it a bit by saying that.
"But the manager and the coaching staff had a lot of belief and, as the year went on, all the players started buying into it as well, and we all started to believe in ourselves.
"At one point, we even started thinking the Champions League was a possibility as well, but to get to the UEFA Cup was an awesome achievement."
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