Boro new boy on the road to fitness after back surgery

BORO new-boy Ben May says he is looking forward to getting match fit and challenging for a place in the Stevenage first team.

The striker signed a contract until the end of the season last week and came off the bench in the goalless draw with Morecambe at the weekend but, following back surgery in the summer he is not yet match fit and knows he has some way to go before Boro see the best of him.

“(The operation) was probably about three months ago now but the back feels good. The muscles, the hamstrings, the glutes are stiffening up so we’ve got to keep on top of that but all in all the back is feeling good,” May told The Comet.

“I’m quite a way off (match fitness) yet I think, but the sooner the better really.

“The gaffer has put me in as I’m gagging to play but I’ve got to be realistic to know that my fitness is nowhere near where it should be but I’m looking forward to the challenge of getting fit and getting in the team.

“Maybe I should have got a couple of shots off (against Morecambe) but that’s where I’ve just lost the sharpness. I felt I won the aerial battle, gave us something a little bit different and caused them a few different problems that they didn’t really have to deal with in the game.”

May was at Scunthorpe United last season but his contract came to an end in the summer and following his back injury he was undergoing his rehabilitation at Gillingham when Boro boss Graham Westley came calling.

“To be honest I was down at Gillingham having rehab down there but it’s been hard because I was out of contract at Scunthorpe in June and no-one was going to take me when I was miles off being fit and obviously a back injury is a dodgy one,” May said.

“But the gaffer called me and said he was interested and it’s been better than what I thought. I’ve only been in a week. I signed a week ago and I’ve played a bit.”

Speaking about his new signing after the Morecambe game, Westley said May offered something different to what he already had at the club.

“Ben is a very experienced player in the Championship and League One.

“He’s got 26 years of age behind him but a lot of future in front of him and he’s had to drop down as he’s had an injury and people have forgotten about him.

“It’s difficult for a player going out of contract at a time when you are injured as badly as he was with a back situation but he’s got a lot of strength, a lot of ability to lead the line and he’ll give us a different dimension up there.”