Hartlepool defender Ben Clark is optimistic about his recovery from an ankle injury he picked up in the build up to the season opener.The 25-year-old faces up to another fortnight on the sidelines after spraining his ankle before the season even kicked off.

"To be fair it's going quite well for me at the moment," Clark told the club's official website.

"I'm trying to get in to the gym as much as possible but I also have to be careful because I don't want to rush things at this stage.

"I have to try and step things up gradually so I've been having some competitions in there with the physio James Haycock - of course, I always win them."

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