Gary Naysmith hopes to be given the go-ahead to up his rehabilitation when he meets the surgeon who carried out the operation on his ruptured cruciate ligament on Wednesday.

"When I learnt the extent of the damage I had the operation more or less there and then, and it will be 11 weeks on Wednesday since surgery, explained the Scottish international.

"I am due to see the surgeon on Wednesday and, hopefully, he will tell me that I can start some jogging.

"All I have been able to do so far is swimming, cycling and rowing, just to get some movement back into the legs.

"It is a case of being patient and letting things heal but I am hoping for some good news.

"The surgeon said straight after the operation that everything had gone to plan and I should be aiming to return in six months. That would be the start of November so there is still a way to go.

"I haven't had any setbacks yet and I have a target in mind, although you never know until you start jogging.

"It is probably the most serious injury I have suffered, but it is a common one at the minute. It is just about getting through the rehabilitation correctly and I should be back as good as new."

Despite his participation being obviously limited in Malta, Naysmith was still keen to emphasis the importance of his inclusion on last week's trip:

"Going with the squad kept me involved which I appreciated and the facilities at the hotel enabled me to do all my gym work and a bit more.

"They had a treadmill under the water which allowed me to jog, and that takes something like 40% off the pressure on the knee, so being able to do that was really good.

"I wanted to go with the lads because I will spend enough time managing myself in the coming months, and it also proved to be beneficial given the facilities."

Now Naysmith is looking forward to catching up with a former Blade who suffered a similar injury recently:

"I believe 'Jags' is seeing the same surgeon as me on Thursday and although we haven't spoken for a while, I know we are at a similar stage so I will be in touch."