Hold Forte!

Jonathan Forte: building fitness for his return next month

JONATHAN Forte won’t be rushed back into action, his manager has warned - but if all goes to plan he could be ready by the middle of January.

Athletic’s top scorer last season with 15 goals, Forte (29) has resumed training after a knee operation.

The idea is to build his fitness slowly, allowing him to aim for a realistic chance of playing at Bradford on January 16.

“Forte is back training with us now, which is good,” said Athletic boss David Dunn. “It will be like having a new signing. We have to be careful with a knee injury. We don’t want to rush him too much to the stage where his knee swells up.”

Forte, who has one goal to his name this season, has been out since being sent off for violent conduct in the 2-1 home loss to Bradford in early September.

Another contracted forward who has yet to play for Dunn is Rhys Murphy, but that situation may change at Blackpool on Boxing Day.

Murphy is back from a loan to Crawley that has seen him score 10 goals in 17 games. With Crawley wanting him back in early 2016, it remains to be seen where Murphy’s future lies.

“Rhys has scored a good few goals, so he comes back into the squad. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off at Crawley,” Dunn said.

As for Blackpool, Dunn hopes that a continuation of the level of performance put in during the second half at Coventry — against one of the division’s best squads — will be enough for a win.