Lewis Kinsella has targeted a return to action next month - and has vowed to hit the ground running for Colchester United in the New Year.

Former Aston Villa youngster Kinsella has been sidelined for the past two months since injuring his ankle in the U’s goal-less home draw with Newport County, on October 6.

Kinsella underwent surgery on the ankle soon after and has been building up his fitness ever since.

However, the 22-year-old left-back is making good progress and recently got the thumbs up from the specialist to continue with his recovery programme.

Kinsella plans to start running again in the next couple of weeks and is hoping to make a big impact when he is fit again.

Kinsella told the Daily Gazette: “The recovery’s going very well and I’m hoping that I can come back in mid-January.

“I have to make sure that I come back flying and that I hit the ground running.

“I know that I’m not guaranteed a place by any means and I’ll need to work very hard to get back into the team.

“It’s been nearly two months now since the operation and hopefully, I’ll be back in around five or six weeks.

“I’ve been in the gym with older pros like Lofty (Doug Loft) and Ports (Chris Porter) and that’s really helped.

“They really help to push you on and drive you on with your target.

“We’re all the same in that we all want to be playing and are frustrated when we’re not.”

Kinsella says he was delighted to see Colchester get back to winning ways in League Two, having watched both of their victories over Crewe Alexandra and Cheltenham Town.

Kinsella sat with the U’s fans for the 3-0 Cheltenham win and said he enjoyed the experience.

“I went with my uncle to the Cheltenham game and sat with the away fans,” added Kinsella.

“The Colchester fans were excellent and they really got behind the team.”