Dinning getting back up to speed

Stafford Rangers veteran midfielder Tony Dinning is well on the mend from his back injury - but warns it will take time to get completely up to speed.

The 34-year-old was fit enough to be named on the bench last Saturday against Harrogate, after suffering a recurrence the previous week that forced him to miss games at Gainsborough and the home derby against AFC Telford.

Dinning was first sidelined after suffering whiplash in a minor car accident in mid-December, but had hoped to return over the festive period - only for the weather to put paid to every game from Boxing Day to Gainsborough.

In the end it was just as well, as the former Wolves player suffered a painful relapse and stood no chance of returning to the side.

But Dinning has begun a physiotherapy course that has aided his recovery and, with young duo Tom Thorley and Michael Burns blocking his route into the side, will use every chance available to get back to his old self.

He said: "I am not too bad now, I will train again tomorrow night with the rest of the players and hopefully be in the squad on Saturday. I probably just need time to get up to speed again, I have put the hours in on a personal level but now I need training and games.

"Friday I will see the physio again and that is something I will be doing regularly over the next few weeks, because I don't want another recurrence of the injury. You should have seen me on the Thursday before the Gainsborough game, I just woke up in the morning and I couldn't lift my head off the pillow.

"But I have had some treatment and massages which have helped, because it's tight muscles that are the problem, and that seems to be speeding up my recovery."