It's Great To Be Back, Says Hughes

- Sam Hughes is close to making a return from injury for the Club's Development Squad
- The authoritative defender has been out of action since the summer
- Hughes spoke to LCFC TV as part of the build-up to Friday's visit of West Ham United's Under-23s
- Friday's fixture will come too soon for Hughes, but he is almost back to full fitness
- Supporters can watch the interview in full on LCFC TV from 6:45pm BST on Friday evening

The 21-year-old's last competitive appearance was during the Hong Kong Soccer Sevens in May, but an injury began to take its toll over the summer months.

However, after careful rehabilitation at the Club's training ground, Hughes, a star performer of the 2017/18 season for the Club's Under-23s, is finally nearing full-fitness.

"It’s great to almost be back," Hughes told LCFC TV, as part of the channel's pre-match coverage of Friday's Premier League 2 clash with West Ham United (7pm BST kick-off).

"Obviously I’ve been out for a while now. Fourteen weeks seems like a long time but it hasn’t been too bad, going through the weeks and trying to get back into the swing of things.

"I probably feel like it’s gone quite quick to be honest. I’m definitely looking forward to getting back in training next weekend and involved in the upcoming games.

"It is tough, I’ve been out of football for quite a long time from coming back into pre-season and only training a limited amount of time before then realising about my injury.

"You’ve just got to try and keep yourself motivated and just think to yourself that before you know it, you’ll be back and fit.

"I have had to try and keep myself focused and always think that the more I focus on trying to get my injury sorted, the quicker I'll get back."

Hughes, who joined the Club from Chester in the summer of 2017, is a popular member of the Development Squad and has paid tribute the support of his team-mates during a difficult period.

While Friday's visit of West Ham will be too soon for the defender, it is now only a matter of time before he'll be running out at Holmes Park for the Under-23s.

"The lads are great, there’s always a good spirit," he added. "Every day I come into training, we always have a good laugh.

"They definitely keep me going, keep my mind off my injury, especially in the early days when I first got the injury, so the lads definitely help a lot."

Watch the interview in full during LCFC TV's pre-match coverage of the Development Squad's fixture against West Ham United from 6:45pm on Friday evening.