Paul Heckingbottom
Paul Heckingbottom was asked whether Jack O’Connell has a chance of featuring this season ?
Paul Heckingbottom said, “Jack at the minute is still going through a process. He’s had a lot of steps laid out because there was a reaction to his rehab towards the back end, taking a step back and gaining some more advice and now he’s beginning a step programme. The best case scenario is he is going down that route and if that doesn’t work, he is going down a different avenue and so on. It would be unfair to Jack and the medical team to say we need him back for this date – he will be led to how he responds to his treatement and I think that’s the most sensible way. When you have been out for that length of time it’s about getting it right rather than getting it done quickly. I am not counting on Jack being back. You would be silly to do that. But what we will do is give him every opportunity. If we can get him back on the training ground and get him minutes, whether that’s in first team games or a friendly game, building up his confidence, then we will do that, but we will be led on that with how he does with his rehab because it’s been two steps back to start moving forward. He’s still a way from those minutes in getting any game time.
