Bradley Dack is ready to lace up his boots up in the next month as the Rovers attacker aims to continue his smooth rehabilitation process from a second ACL injury.

Dack underwent knee surgery for the second time in a little over a year in March and is three months into his latest comeback which he is looking to step up next month.

The 27-year-old has continued working during the off season in the gym at Brockhall and feels the process second time around has been both smoother and quicker.

Once back on the grass Dack believes he will be on the home straight as he aims to return quicker than he did last time, his injury in December 2019 sidelining him for a full 12 months.

“It’s going really well, 12 weeks post surgery, three months in, and we’ve got our targets set for when we want to be back and it’s gone really smoothly,” Dack explained in an interview with Rovers TV.

“All my testing scores are good, my walking is back.

“I’m at the right place for where I should be, the surgeon has signed us off and we’re all good to hopefully start some running on the grass in four or five weeks.

“It’s gone quickly, much quicker than the last time when obviously I had the braces and the crutches on so that process felt a lot longer than it has this time.”

Ibrahim Karim, the club’s first-team rehabilitation specialist has worked closely with Dack throughout his rehabilitation process, with the attacker having an input into his recovery having been through it once before.

Much of Dack’s work last time was done away from Brockhall, owing to the coronavirus pandemic, but with the rest of the first-team squad having had a seven week break, he’s had the place to himself this time around.

That has now changed, with the squad reporting back for pre-season training, and he admits that will add a different dimension to his rehabilitation.

He added: “The boys not being in has been easier, you can come in every day and crack on with your work and get yourself home.

“Now they start to filter back it will be a little bit tougher but I’m ready to embrace the journey and trust the process.”

His full range of movement is expected to be back in time for his return to getting back on the training pitches, and while that is something Dack admits will take some acclimatising to, it’s something he’s excited by.

“When I get on the grass hopefully I will feel good,” he said.

“From not doing anything for so long to going on the grass it will be a transition, it’s weird, but it’s the best feeling because it’s getting closer, I can see the boys training, I’m running, kicking some balls around, running, hurting my legs and my lungs and feel like a footballer again.

“When you’re in the gym you don’t feel like a footballer, you just feel like someone who is injured working in the gym which is the toughest part of me.

“When you get back on the grass it’s downhill from there.”