Kidderminster captain Stuart Whitehead was today facing a face against time to be fit for the start of the new season as he prepared to resume training after surgery.
Whitehead joined his Aggborough team mates for the annual pre-season photocall but he is less certain about lining up on the field on Saturday as he continues his recovery from a hernia operation.
The experienced centre-back suffered a massive setback at the beginning of pre-season when doctors ruled he needed surgery to cure his hernia problems.
And although he is now on the brink of resuming full training, he has admitted it might come too late to put him in the frame for the opening game of the new Blue Square Premier season at home to Aldershot on Saturday.
“It’s been a tough pre-season for me because I had to have an operation, but that was three weeks ago now and hopefully I’m making some progress,” said Whitehead.
“I’m just starting to do some fitness work now and hopefully I might be able join in with the lads on Thursday or Friday.
“Whether that’s soon enough for me to play on Saturday is something for the manager’s discretion.
“But hopefully I’ll be close this week and then I’ll crack on from there so with a bit of luck I shouldn’t miss too many games when the season starts.”
And Whitehead is adamant the decision to have the operation when he did was the right one, even though it might delay his start to the new season.
“I had a hernia operation because I was getting too much pain in the early weeks of pre-season around my groin and abdominal muscles,” he said.
“It was just too painful to run and turn and do all of the things associated with football so it was better to get it done now than to struggle on for the rest of the season and miss a lot more games than a will do now.”
If Whitehead fails to recover in time then either Gavin Hurren or summer signing John Munday will partner Mark Creighton at the centre of defence.
Munday lined up for his first Harriers photocall yesterday alongside fellow summer arrivals Dean Coleman, Paul Bignot, Andy Ferrell, Justin Richards and Matthew Barnes-Homer.
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