HULL CITY: Bullard admits he'll need reserve run before returning

JIMMY Bullard says he will need a couple of reserve outings to regain his fitness when he returns for Hull City in "three to four" weeks.

Talk of an imminent return from injury has been well wide of the mark and sadly, a long-awaited comeback is more likely to now come in March.

But with a spring quickly returning to his step, Bullard is adamant he can still play a leading role in City's survival fight.

Nine weeks on from suffering medial ligament damage at Aston Villa, the £5m club-record signing is inching towards a playing return.

Full training is expected to be resumed within a fortnight and providing no set-backs are encountered, the Tigers' trip to Everton on March 7 looks like being the fixture circled on his calendar.

Progress may have been slower than expected, but Bullard is desperate to resume his pivotal role in Phil Brown's escape plans.

"It's feeling better, the last two weeks I've come on leaps and bounds," said Bullard, who will watch tonight's clash with Chelsea from the stands.

"Two weeks ago if you'd have asked me I'd have been a bit worried, it just felt a bit crappy to be honest.

"But I've been through this before where some weeks you don't feel great and then you get a little bit of a good feeling.

"I'm at one of those ones now where I'm feeling good again."

Perhaps understandably, Bullard is less forthright than manager Brown in plotting his return.

The City boss had optimistically hoped to see his play-maker back in action by now but keen to see a smooth return, Bullard is taking it one step at a time.

"I'm aiming to have a good week of straight-line running and hopefully by the middle of next week I can start twisting and turning," he said.

"That for me will be a big thing because if I can twist and turn by then without any instability, I'll know a lot more and be able to get a ball out.

"I'm at nine weeks now so I've probably lost a bit of fitness so it should take a game or two in the reserves as well.

"I don't want to come back sluggish, I want to come back and hit the ground running and sharp."