Summerfield hoping his spell on the sidelines is nearing the end

WHEN LUKE Summerfield makes his return to action, it will end what the Town midfielder describes as the most frustrating injury of his career.

Summerfield hasn’t played for Halifax since being taken off during the 1-0 defeat at Yeovil on September 4.

He had started the first four games of the season, but during the Yeovil match, was a shadow of his usual composed, authoritative self, with the fact he was substituted - an extremely rare occurrence - a sign that something wasn’t right.

“I cracked my cartilage, we think it was in the first game of the season,” said Summerfield.

“Then I had an injury the week after it as well in my knee.

“I played with it for a while but it was just getting too painful, too sore, impacting my game, so I had to arrest it.

“I’ve seen specialists, had injections and things, and now it’s a waiting game to see how I feel.

“I’ve trained the last two weeks and I’m feeling better and better, sharper each day, so we’ll see how it feels leading up to a game.”

The Shaymen have done well in Summerfield’s absence, starting the season strongly and sitting just three points off top spot in the National League.

“In a weird way it’s been hard to watch. It’s never nice to watch when you’re not playing, and you’re injured, but it’s made it bittersweet in how the lads have been doing,” Summerfield said.

“Whenever I’ve been able to get to the games it’s been a joy to watch, the lads have been doing unbelievably well.

“As long as they carry on winning, at the end of the day that’s the most important thing because we’re all here to get this club promoted, whatever way we do it.”

But the fact that Town have been doing so well only goes some of the way to easing Summerfield’s frustration over his spell on the sidelines.

“Last year was an injury where we knew the time-frame, knew the injury, knew the rehab process,” he said.

“But this one’s been really, really frustrating, I think it’s been one of those injuries where I’ve tried my best to carry on and realised it’s nowhere near where I want it to be.

“Not knowing the time-span of it, not knowing where to go from it, with rest, injections, talk of an operation, it’s been a frustrating one not knowing the time-frame for it and going from there.

“It’s been probably the one injury in my career that’s frustrated me more than any other, not being out there but also not knowing the type of injury and the type of rehab, it’s been a tough one.