Aaron Wildig sets himself Boxing Day target for Shrewsbury Town return

Wildig has not kicked a ball for three weeks after he suffered bone bruising on his knee in a foul tackle by Notts County midfielder Andre Boucard on November 23.

Fortunately, initial fears that he had torn his posterior cruciate ligament – which would have kept him out of action for several months – proved unfounded.

And the 21-year-old former Cardiff City man is now targeting a place in manager Graham Turner's matchday squad for the Boxing Day home clash with Tranmere Rovers.

He said: "If I can get near the squad for the Boxing Day game I would be quite happy, although I suspect I won't be fully fit until the New Year.

"I am not going to train next week, but If I can train after the Crewe game (on December 21) and just get a bit of basic fitness, I might be in contention."

It is an ambitious target for Wildig, who accepts that any role he plays in that game is likely to come from the substitutes' bench.

"I don't know if I'd be in contention to play a full 90 minutes," he added. "If the boys keep doing well I might not get back in then, but hopefully if i can get near the bench for the Boxing Day game that would be good."

Wildig has certainly been surprised by the progress he has made since he picked up the injury, and is already on the road back to fitness.

He is not allowed to do much in the way of weight- bearing exercise, but club physio Chris Skitt has got him putting in the miles on a bike in a bid to get back as quickly as possible.

"The knee is feeling really good. It's come on so much recently," he said. " I couldn't walk for the first few days and then started limping for about a week and a half and it just gradually got so much better.

"It still hurts a bit just touching it, but I am riding the bike a lot now. Skitty has put me on bike rides but it feels good and I have had about three tours of Shrewsbury."

Wildig was originally tasked with taking photos of local landmarks on his way round a series of pre-planned routes, but his progress is now being tracked using a mobile phone app.

"Taking photos was slowing me down and I was getting more rest, so (Skitt) changed it to this bike app which follows my route so I can't just go and ride out of the car park and hide in a tree for 25 minutes," he added.

"I don't think there are many treatments for this injury. The consultant said it is just about resting it really, but then also trying to keep my fitness levels up without weight- bearing on it – so mostly I have been on the bike. You don't know if it is keeping your cardio up until you start running again though, really.

"I need to see what my fitness is like when I start running again, but it's going to take a couple of weeks to get back into things when it does happen.

"Hopefully I can start running on the pitch towards the end of next week, but you just stay as fit as you can when you are out injured and I have been out every day on the bike at the moment."

Despite his steady progress, Wildig is set for a few more weeks sitting on the sidelines on matchdays, and it is an experience he has not been enjoying.

However, he was delighted that his teammates grabbed a first away win of the season at Stevenage in his absence two weeks ago.

"I haven't really had a serious injury and I don't cope well with it," he admitted.

"I don't enjoy not training and I find it difficult to just watch games, as I think every footballer does.

"I didn't travel to Stevenage with the team, although I was made up for them because we have been fighting for that first away win all season.

"To see us go 3-1 up just after half-time I was buzzing on the sofa at home and it was a great win which we needed."

But it is ultimately the buzz of playing that Wildig craves, and while there are no guarantees he will make his festive deadline, it would be a Christmas gift.