ETIENNE Esajas is back in training after a scan confirmed his shoulder injury is not as bad as first feared, and he could be back in contention before the trip to Cheltenham a week on Saturday.

The Dutch winger fell awkwardly after challenging for possession in the friendly at Cirencester, dislocating his shoulder in the process.

Injuries ultimately cut short his spell at Sheffield Wednesday during his last spell in England and the latest one sparked fears he could be sidelined for some time.

But a scan has revealed that he has suffered no ligament damage, allowing Esajas to resume light training yesterday.

And though he feels he may even be fit enough by the weekend, he accepts that it will most likely be by the second league game of the season that he can be considered for selection.

Esajas told the Advertiser: “We have had scan results back and it is looking very good.

“I was back running (yesterday) so that is a good thing.

“It has been over a week now and I don’t know how many days are left before I am completely fine again, but the scan said there is no ligament damage which is the main thing.

“I just need to do some strength work on my arm and then I’ll be fine.

“If it was up to me I would want to play on Saturday.

“I’m not sure when I’ll be back though, it could be Saturday, could be Tuesday or it could even be next Saturday, so we’ll see.”

While many in the stands at the Corinium Stadium no doubt feared that Esajas would be out long term, given his past record, Esajas knew as soon as his shoulder popped out of the socket that it was nothing related to any his previous injuries.

“I was never thinking something like ‘here we go again’, it was just very unlucky,” he added.

“I went for a tackle but fell down and my shoulder just popped, so it was nothing to do with what has happened before.

“At first I thought it was my elbow before the opposition player took my elbow with him and it was really sore, but then I felt there was something wrong with my shoulder.

“We popped it in really quick and it was painful for a while.

“But I have been working hard on getting fit, obviously I haven’t been able to train like before recently, so I need to start building my fitness up again.

“I am getting there though and I’ll keep working hard and that is all I can do.”