SAMSON Tovide can be like a new signing for Colchester United when he makes his long-awaited return to action.

That’s the view of U’s head coach Danny Cowley, who is excited by the prospect of welcoming the talented young striker into his squad in the near future.

Tovide has been sidelined for the last three months with an ankle injury sustained in Colchester’s 2-1 home defeat to Crawley Town, in early December.

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But the 20-year-old striker, who has scored five goals in 21 appearances for the U’s this season, is edging closer to a long-awaited recovery.

And U’s boss Cowley is relishing the prospect of working with Tovide, as Colchester look to pull away from relegation danger.

Cowley said: “We’re really looking forward to working with Samson.

“Wow, how exciting is that boy.

“I keep watching clips of Samson, just to cheer myself up!

“He’s such an exciting player and we’re really forward to working with him.

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“We’re expecting to come back around the beginning of April and he’ll almost be like a new signing to us.”

Colchester are also hoping to welcome back defender Fiacre Kelleher in the near future, following his back issue.

The popular centre-back has not played since mid-December for the U’s, having initially suffered a Grade Two Rectus Femoris tear and then related back issues.

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Kelleher has made only four league starts for Colchester so far this season but is on his way back.

“Kells is coming on well,” added Cowley.

“The quad has cleared up.

“He’s had a back issue, which is probably why he’s picked up some soft tissue injuries, this season.

“The key is the back now, to try to resolve that.

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“He’s back on the grass and doing some straight line work and has been doing some low level ball work.

“We’re really hopeful that he’ll be back by early March.

“Kells is a really experienced player.

“He’s a great character and will definitely add to what we have already.”

Colchester are now preparing for their trip to play Barrow, this weekend.

Their home clash with Stockport County, which was postponed last Saturday, has been rearranged for Tuesday, April 9, kick-off 7.45pm.