Dave Challinor hopeful of a Hartlepool United return for former Middlesbrough midfielder Luke Williams after injury set-backs

The 26-year-old has been restricted to just three substitute appearances so far this season and is currently recovering from a hamstring injury that has kept him out of action since November.

Williams agreed a new deal at Pools last summer despite failing to feature in his first season at the club after suffering a serious knee injury and subsequent complications.

And after numerous set-backs for the player, Hartlepool boss Challinor is hopeful Williams can overcome not only the physical battle but also the mental battle required to be back in contention to feature in the National League this season.

“I hope [we will see him play], in terms of him physically, he’s back to a point where he can be out on the grass,” Challinor commented.

“Whether he’s at that point mentally is a different question. I think from our perspective, that’s going to be the overriding thing really.

“It’s whether he can go and believe and trust in his body more than anything else.

“That will dictate whether we see him again this season or whether we don’t more than him being physically injured.

“He’s just got to trust [his body] which is difficult with the knockbacks he’s had but we’ll keep working with him and hopefully we will see him play.”