Dave Edwards has returned to full training with Shrewsbury Town

The 33-year-old Welshman has been undergoing rehab this summer after the injury sustained in training in April.

The January signing ruptured two ligaments in his ankle, a second injury setback since his Town return after tweaking a groin muscle.

But Edwards now looks on course to be ready for the League One curtain-raiser at home to Portsmouth on August 3 after stepping up his comeback.

He is now back in full training with Sam Ricketts' team and the club will judge when he is ready for minutes in pre-season friendlies.

Edwards has been joined on the sidelined by fellow central midfielders Josh Laurent and Ollie Norburn, leaving Town short in that area before they picked up Chelsea youngster Luke McCormick on loan.

The hometown midfielder missed the entire first half of last season with Reading thanks to a knee problem and the first few months of his Shrewsbury reunion were broken up.

Ricketts said: "Dave is now back in full training which is really good.

"Fitness-wise he's been able to do a lot of running. We'll just assess him over the next couple of days to see when he can step into match action."

Left-sided defender Scott Golbourne has also been recovering from an injury over the summer after damaging his knee on the final day of last season against Walsall.

"Scotty Golbourne isn't a million miles behind either. Fitness-wise he's looking very, very good," Ricketts added.

"We're just waiting for the final clearances given the knee injury. Then we can unleash Scotty as well."

Town welcome Premier League new-boys Aston Villa to Montgomery Waters Meadow on Sunday for a 2pm kick-off.

The fixture is nearing a sell-out with only 100 or so tickets remaining.

It is Shrews' first home friendly of the summer. They go to Cheltenham Town on Tuesday before a final warm-up game against Dundee United on Saturday week.