Mansfield Town delighted with speed of Mal Benning recovery

Benning limped off at the end of the home defeat by Bristol Rovers last month with damaged cruciate ligaments which it was feared could see his season over.

However, he is now walking around with the aid of a brace and could be running again before the end of December.

“Progress has been quick,” said boss Adam Murray. “He came back in with a special brace that fits to his dimensions of his leg and how they need the injury to heal.

“When he first came in he was all over the place with a limp.

“He had two days with the physio and they corrected his walk. It was a mental thing more than anything.

“They said you can walk properly so stop walking like a sausage and the next day he came in he was walking properly.”

Murray smiled: “I think he can play now. Let’s get a big sock on his brace and get him in.

“It’s better than having an operation and the news we got that he didn’t need surgery was brilliant. He’s got to spend seven or eight weeks in that now, then he can start running again. So we are over the moon with that.”