Lewis Gobern has high hopes of being fully fit for when the squad return from the summer break at the end of the month.

The right sided midfielder missed all of the 2007/08 campaign after suffering ankle and knee injuries.

He damaged ankle ligaments in the pre-season friendly at Grays Athletic, and was on the verge of a comeback shortly after Christmas when he began to suffer from a knee problem.

He recalled: "The ankle seemed to take forever to heal and then, when it did, I travelled with the squad and was warming up on the pitch at Norwich at Christmas when I began to get pain in my right knee.

"I had treatment which included injections but the knee was still very painful so I went to see a specialist in Nottingham for some scans.

"He decided that the best option was keyhole surgery which I had three weeks ago when they took away some scar tissue.

"And it seems to have done the trick because I've had no pain since.

"I've been coming into Compton Park every day to do some strengthening work on the leg to build it up.

"My first target is to be fit and ready for pre-season training when the lads get back in a couple of weeks."