Significant injury update on key Hartlepool United midfielder

Mancini made a huge impression for Hartlepool during the opening month of the season after penning a permanent deal with the club this summer following an impressive trial period.

The midfielder helped inspire John Askey’s side to their best start to a league campaign in over 30-years with four wins from their opening six games – Mancini twice finding himself on the scoresheet in that time against Maidenhead United and Chesterfield.

But it was shortly after his strike against Chesterfield that Hartlepool’s season appears to have changed after the 22-year-old pulled up with a hamstring injury.

Hartlepool boss Askey lamented the National League over the injury, with Pools having played twice in less than 48-hours, as Mancini faced the prospect of missing the rest of the season due to a grade 4c tear to his hamstring.

Mancini returned to his native France to carry out the initial phase of his rehabilitation where he has made huge progress.

As revealed by The Mail, Hartlepool received a positive update on the condition of Mancini and his recovery, with consultants in France suggesting the midfielder could return around the Christmas period.

And that is something which has been shared by Hartlepool’s physio Danny O’Connor who has provided an update on the midfielder, with Mancini set to return to the North East ahead of stepping up his rehabilitation, with the club hopeful of a return by the end of the year.

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

"He’s back in the UK this weekend so I’ll get hold of him then. 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.

"It was originally forecast he was going to be out for the season but hopefully it will be this side of Christmas, or sooner.

"It was a 4c hamstring close to the tendon. So it was quite a significant tear across that,” O’Connor added.

"They had to let it settle before the consultant decided whether he needed surgery or not. He was managing it with isometric exercises, hoping the tendon would heal better and it turns out that it has and the surgeon and consultant in France are really happy with that, to the point where they’ve let him run.

"I want to check that out this side just to confirm it, not that I doubt what they’ve done but just for our piece of mind as a club so we know what we can do and how we can push him.

"But he’s happy when I spoke to him with where he’s at. It’ll be nice to get him back around the lads.”