Key Hartlepool United player returns to the North East to continue fitness recovery

Mancini has returned to the North East and is back at Hartlepool’s Maiden Castle training base as the Frenchman looks to progress his recovery from a hamstring injury to the next phase.

The midfielder returned home to his native France earlier this season after fears the 22-year-old would be out for the rest of the campaign due to the hamstring injury picked up in the defeat to Chesterfield back in August.

Mancini pulled up early in the game after he had given Hartlepool a 2-0 lead, clutching at his hamstring, in an injury which left manager John Askey furious with the National League's Bank Holiday scheduling.

Initial fears suggested Mancini would be out for the rest of the season before The Mail revealed Hartlepool had received a positive update on Mancini’s condition.

The midfielder had been under consultation in France where it was suggested that not only would he be able to return this season but he could even return in 2023 with Christmas being highlighted as a potential return date.

Hartlepool’s club physio Danny O'Connor recently provided an update on Mancini who confirmed he was set to return to the North East.

"We’ve been in constant contact with his physios in France,” said O’Connor.

"He’s done well and he’s better than what we’d initially hoped for in terms of what the initial diagnosis was. I’m still not fully convinced until I see him, that’s just me as a physio. I want to see him and I want to assess him.

"He’s been doing a bit of running and a bit of dribbling, so sooner rather than later hopefully, but he’s back over here [soon] and we’ll have a good look at him and we’ll know better from there."

And it now appears Mancini is back with the Hartlepool squad after pictures surfaced online from team-mate Tom Crawford’s social media of the 22-year-old back in training.

Mancini’s return would be a welcome boost for Askey who has seen his side struggle for form since the Frenchman’s injury as Pools aim to get their season back on track.