Daniel Ballard looks set to return to training early after the knee injury he picked up that required surgery.

Daniel Ballard showing off his new bruise ahead of Millwall's match (Photo via Millwall on Twitter)
Daniel Ballard showing off his new bruise ahead of Millwall’s match (Photo via Millwall on Twitter)

Daniel Ballard picked up a knee injury that required surgery in December.

It’s not the first time the defender has had problems, his loan at Swindon was aborted almost immediately after picking up an injury.

Still, the defender has shown enough in his spells away from Arsenal to insure the club stand by him, especially given they have already released him once.

At the time of the surgery, Millwall boss, Gary Rowett, was reluctant to put a timeframe on his recovery, saying, “You don’t know what they are going to find when they go in and you’ve had previous injuries.

“Eight, 10 or a 12-week prognosis is a reasonable timescale for any operation.”

Now, however, it seems as if the Arsenal lad will be back in training in February.

Ballard started 19 of Millwall’s opening 20 Championship fixtures but has missed the last seven games (six league) due to this injury.