DAMIEN Francis jets off to America on Monday (10 September) for a two week spell of intense rehabilitation on his injured knee.

The attacking midfielder has been working hard and progress so far is good on his cruciate ligament injury which has kept him out of action since the end of last season.

However as Head of Medical Andy Rolls explains, it's hoped the change in scenery will benefit the ex-Norwich midfielder.

He said: "Damien is doing exceptionally well. The time in America will be good for him. He's four-and-a-half months into his rehab and it's been difficult because he's putting in long hours at the training ground every day. So we feel he needs a bit of a lift and also it's a really good centre, it will be a change of scenery for him and then we can get him really fit."

Francis bagged five goals for the Hornets last season before injury cut his season short and his goalscoring threat from midfielder would be another welcome option for Aidy Boothroyd. However, at the moment Francis is just focusing on his own rehabilitation.

He said: "The progress is going well; I've started running now in a straight line and doing little bits of movements. The running itself isn't alien to me although it's alien to my knee so we have to train it.

"The more running I've been doing the easier it gets. I've also been working pretty much everyday in the gym since I've been injured so I know every nook and cranny of the place! That's been very important to strengthen the muscles around the knee; I did a bit of swimming as well when I was starting off. At the moment my work is split evenly between the gym and outside."

The injury to Francis has meant he's been keeping company with fellow midfielder Gareth Williams, they've been working together providing a sympathetic shoulder for each other and trying to have a few laughs along the way to make things more bearable.

"Even though it's not an ideal situation and I don't wish an injury on anyone else it's been nice to have Gareth around, to have someone else to work with and to keep our morale up."

The next few months look to be busy then for the midfielder as he continues to improve the strength in preparation for when he can finally pull on the Hornets' shirt again. 

"I've got a busy schedule with the physio team working on my knee. There is still lots of hard work to do and tests to overcome in the next few weeks and months but hopefully all being well I may be back for some time in November. However you can never be 100 per cent certain, especially at this stage."

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