A few words about Eustace

New Hereford United loan signing John Eustace has just started playing again after a long spell out injured.



John Eustace - Sky Sports picture.

Two weeks ago Stoke reserve-team manager Noel Blake said that John Eustace is "one or two games away" from a first-team return as he continued his comeback.

Eustace has been out of action for 18 months with a serious knee injury but is now on the verge of a welcome return to the first-team fold.

The 27-year-old came through Wednesday's (late September) reserve-team encounter with local rivals Port Vale with no adverse effects, and Blake revealed: "I thought John was excellent.

"He played the game at a high tempo, put in some good tackles and passed the ball about with quality.

"I obviously don't see him every day in training and obviously it's up to the manager to say when he's ready, but games like this can only help him.

"But at this moment in time, from what I've seen so far in reserve games, I think he's probably one or two games away from the first team."

One of the last games Eustace played was for Stoke against Darlington in the League Cup last August. Darlington won 2-1.

Eustace lives in Sutton Coldfield so the move shouldn't cause too many travelling problems.

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