Paul Ifill's recovery from ankle surgery is on schedule and the Wellington Phoenix striker is hoping to be back in action by the end of January.
Ifill hasn't played to his potential this season but was troubled by an ankle injury, prompting the club to book him in for surgery in the hope it might help him re-find his best form. He went under the knife less than a fortnight ago and will have his stitches out on Monday before heading straight to the gym to assess where his fitness is at.
"The surgeon originally said three to six weeks so hopefully I will be able to start getting back to fitness immediately,'' Ifill said. "There was a build-up of scar tissue from a pre-season injury that was affecting my mobility and he has cleared it all out.
"He is confident he has got all the scar tissue out and that I won't have any more problems with it.''
The Phoenix play the Roar, the defending A-League champions, in Brisbane on Tuesday night fresh from their 3-2 defeat of the Melbourne Heart in Wellington on Thursday.
