Slatter raring to get pre-season under way

Danny Slatter is looking forward to the year ahead as he reports back for pre-season training on Wednesday alongside the rest of Liam Daish’s squad. The 27-year-old midfielder was last seen in Fleet colours back on 15 September when he limped off with a serious knee injury after only six minutes of the 5-4 victory over Kidderminster. But the former Welling player is itching to get back into the action having sat on the sidelines for eight months and following a week’s rehabilitation at Lilleshall earlier this month, Slatter has been passed fit by Fleet physio Paul Wilson to take part in pre-season training.

Slatter, who climbed the Royal Box to lift the FA Trophy with club captain Paul McCarthy, is only six games away from his 100th appearance for the Fleet.

More news from the treatment room is that Lance Cronin has made a full recovery from the groin operation that ruled him out of England C action in Wales and the Caribbean earlier this summer. Cronin, who had been playing through pain in the last weeks of the season, visited the same specialist in Leicester who carried out successful surgery on James Smith.

Fleet physio Paul Wilson has also taken this opportunity to introduce his backroom medical team. As the only full-time medical employee at the Fleet, Wilson relies heavily on these unsung volunteers and he also greets some new faces this term.