HARRY Pell says he is desperate to impress ahead of the new season after nearing the end of his injury nightmare.

The popular midfielder is set to report back for duty with the rest of the Colchester United squad at their Florence Park training ground today, after spending the summer recovering from hamstring surgery.

Pell has been working on a daily basis on his rehabilitation after suffering the injury against his former club Cheltenham Town, last February.

Throughout the summer months, the 27-year-old has been paying regular visits to the Isokinetic clinic in London to aid his recovery and the former Charlton Athletic youngster says he is now fighting fit and raring to go.

Pell told the Gazette: “I’m just looking forward to being out on the training ground again.

“I’m chomping at the bit and I can’t wait to get out there again.

“I’m really looking forward to being around the boys again - I’m hungrier than ever ahead of this season and looking to prove a point.

“Next season will be massive for the club and I’m desperate for me individually and for us as a team to hit the ground running.

“It’s been a very tough time for both me and my family.

“This is my first injury of more than two weeks – I broke down soon after I did it after trying to come back and I knew something wasn’t quite right.

“I got opinions from various experienced people and went to see Professor Haddad.

“I was sat on his table for three and a half minutes and he said I needed surgery.

“That was on the Thursday and by the Saturday, I was on the operating table.

“I was proper down in the dumps after it happened and us missing out on the play-offs added to that – it was a nightmare and the lowest that I’ve been.

“But I turned it 360 degrees – I got a full plan in place for my recovery with Isokinetic and after that, I could see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

“It’s been a tough three months of rehabilitation and I haven’t cut any corners.

“I’ve worked every day during pre-season and ticked all of the boxes.

"The next challenge for me now is to be 100 per cent fully functional for the first game of the season against Port Vale.”

Pell has sung the praises of the highly-regarded Isokinetic clinic in Harley Street, where he has spent a large chunk of his summer recovering.

“We got in touch with Isokinetic as we’d heard really good things about them from fellow pros,” added Pell, who made 35 appearances in his first season with the U’s, scoring seven times.

“I followed Michail Antonio’s plan while he was there dot to dot – he’s come back for West Ham and been very strong since his hamstring injury.

“I can’t begin to tell you how good they’ve been – they’re so professional.

“The facilities are unbelievable there and the attention to detail they provide is huge.

“It’s been a busy schedule with it being an hour and a half to get there and the same length of time to get home and it’s been two or three sessions per day sometimes.

“Our fitness coach Perry (Blanchette) has come down some of the days and helped me out.

“I’ve thanked the chairman (Robbie Cowling) for funding my sessions at Isokinetic because without that, it wouldn’t have been possible.

“I also want to say thanks to my family, as they’ve been superb.”