SOUTHEND United right-back Jason Demetriou is closing in on a return from a knee injury.

The 31-year-old has been sidelined since limping off against Scunthorpe United back in November.

But Demetriou believes he is now on the brink of coming back.

“I would say I’m in the final straight in terms of making a return,” said Demetriou.

“I’m running again and although we’re always reluctant to put a time limit on things I would like to think I’ll be back within the next couple of weeks.

“It’s feeling miles better now and I can’t wait to come back because it’s obviously always frustrating whenever you’re injured as you can’t really do anything to help the team.”

Demetriou has missed Blues’ last 11 matches.

But the defender initially feared he could be sidelined for far longer.

“You can never really tell but I was just hoping it wasn’t as bad as the other knee injuries a lot of the lads have suffered this season,” said Demetriou.

“The injuries the likes of Ben Coker and Tom Hopper have I’ve done in the past myself so you’re always a little bit worried about what the problem might be.

“Thankfully it wasn’t as serious as that but it’s still been disappointing to miss the games I have done.

“But I’m close to coming back now and there are still quite a few games to go.”

Demetriou was forced to undergo surgery to regain full fitness but he is not sure whether or not he will need to line up for the under-23s before making a return to League One.

“If there’s a game that fits in with my schedule then it won’t do me any harm to play but I’m not sure what the plan is,” said Demetriou.

“I had a good pre-season and I’ve been working on my fitness throughout the injury so I don’t think I would have lost too much.

“Whenever I’m needed I’ll be ready to play and I obviously can’t wait to be out there again whenever that may be.”

However, Demetriou will face a fight to regain his place in the starting line-up with 20-year-old Elvis Bwomono having performed well in his place.

Blues defender Harry Lennon is also closing in on a return but Ben Coker, Tom Hopper, Sam Barratt, Lewis Gard and Harry Kyprianou have all been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Rob Kiernan has also been out of action since August 2017.