Australian rock Shane Cansdell-Sherriff is targetting next Friday’s long trip to Southend for his return to action for Shrewsbury Town.

The 28-year-old was due to miss today’s home clash with Torquay with a hamstring injury he suffered at Port Vale, which also forced him out of Tuesday’s big Carling Cup clash at Arsenal.

But Cansdell-Sherriff is confident he can make progress at a rapid enough rate to come back into contention for the Roots Hall clash.

“It’s getting stronger every day,” he said.

“I’ve done some swimming, bike work and a little bit of light running yesterday and there have been no repercussions.

“I will try and build it up over the weekend and look to start the ball work on Monday or Tuesday.

“I think Southend is a realistic target at the moment.”

With Town winning at Port Vale and producing a pleasing display at Arsenal, Cansdell-Sherriff concedes that both he and fellow injury victim Ian Sharps could face a battle to get back in the team.

“The lads who have come in have done well and hopefully that will have continued against Torquay today,” he added.

“I want to be playing but the biggest thing is the team doing well.

“My main target is to get fit as quickly as possible.

“I don’t get injured too often and that’s something I’m proud of.

“It was hard to miss Arsenal but that’s football and hopefully I might get the chance to play there or in a similar venue again in the future.”