Blaiz Hall is confident his injury nightmare is behind him as he aims to make up for lost time with St George’s.

The young forward was one of the East End side’s standout players last season as he helped guide the newly promoted outfit to a superb third place in the Premier Division.

Any hopes Hall had of building on that foundation at the start of this campaign were dented as he was forced to endure an extended period on the sidelines after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst in his lower back.

Hall made his long-awaited return to competitive action over the past three weeks and is relieved to have finally taken early moves towards full fitness while contributing to his side’s cause.

“Watching from the sidelines was really frustrating because I couldn’t do anything to help the team out,” said Hall after his side’s narrow 3-2 defeat to title chasing PHC on Sunday.

“Last season I managed to score a lot of goals and provide assists to have a big impact. To be forced to watch on for a large part of this season has been really disappointing.

“Now I’m just happy to be back out there and be able to try and help out the team again. I want to make up for that lost time and really make the most of the rest of this season.

“Being away from the game for so long makes it a little hard to get back into things with my fitness and sharpness, but I’m working hard to get back up to speed.”

While relieved to have finally returned to the first-team fold, Hall concedes he is still having to deal with the lingering effects of his surgery, which have forced him to adapt his playing style.

“Where the cyst was removed from it makes it hard to move around do certain things because where the cut was made in surgery it has taken a lot out of me,” added Hall, who despite his frustrations is confident of getting back to his previous performance levels.

“It’s still frustrating because it means I can’t really get into physical battles and I’m slightly limited in terms of my movement and playing how I would want.

“I have to play a little smarter and differently to how I used to, which is tough because I haven’t been able to be myself on the pitch.

“I didn’t have a dedicated strength and conditioning coach to help me one-on-one in my recovery period and so I’ve had to really do my own thing. That’s tough because obviously I’m not a personal trainer and so it has been difficult.

“However, I’m confident I can get back to where I was before and be as explosive as I used to be. I just have to keep working in the gym and doing everything I can to back up to full speed.”

As well as aiming to make an impact at club level this season, Hall has also set his sights on forcing his way into the national team reckoning.

Hall is this week taking part in a camp for locally based under-23 players this week and could be in contention to feature in matches against United Soccer League Championship expansion team Rhode Island, managed by Bermudian Khano Smith, on Saturday and Tuesday.

“I’m part of the training camp this week and so I’m looking forward to going out there and showing what I can do,” said Hall, who believes the island’s emerging young talent can have a major impact in the national side.

“I feel like the younger players should be given a chance. We have a lot of talent and I think it could really help the squad going forward, because it is the way to go.”