Crocked Partick Thistle star Mustapha Dumbuya hopes to make it a happy New Year for Jags fans by returning to first-team action after the winter break.

The right-back has been out of action since a freak Achilles injury sustained during a summer kickabout, but he is now training again as he nears a return to the Thistle fold.

He admits that it has been difficult to have been sidelined for such an extended period of time, and he now can’t wait to pull on the red and yellow jersey again after missing the entire season to date.

“It’s great to see some light at the end of the tunnel,” Dumbuya said. “Hopefully I’ll be involved with the team in January.

“Every day I’m getting more involved, so after the winter break I hope that I can be back in the side.

“I’m integrated into training a bit now and doing some possession and passing. I haven’t really gone into the contact yet but it’s really good to be in among the lads again.

“I’ve had a ball at my feet for a while now, though not the way it is now, and it feels really good to be stepping that up at the moment.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s been difficult. As a footballer, all you want to do is play and be involved with the squad, so it’s been really hard. But these things happen, I’ve just had to stay mentally strong.

“You want to do what you are here to do, which is play football. When you’re not among the lads then it’s not like you are alone, but you do feel isolated in a sense because you’re not doing what you wish you were doing.

“When you are doing well you want to continue that and when you are hit with a long-term injury it is a massive blow. But you can’t really dwell on it for too long because then you become mentally weak and you won’t be the same player when you come back.”

Dumbuya has noted his manager Alan Archibald’s recent tactical tinkering with interest, with the Thistle boss employing wing-backs on occasion as part of a 3-5-2.

Given his blistering pace and impressive stamina, Dumbuya feels it would be an ideal role for him once he is fully up to speed.

“That’s the position I’ve played in most of my career so I know how to do it and it won’t be a problem,” he said. “One thing I would say though is that you have to be fit to play that position. Hopefully when I get that bit fitter I’ll be able to do it no problem, but if I was to say that I could just jump into that position just now I’d be lying to you!

“I would love to play there when I’m back at my peak though, because when you are in that position you need pace and you need to be able to attack and defend. I love attacking, that’s my game, and I think I have the pace to get back too. It’s something that I would relish.”

The 29-year-old knows though that there will be no easy path back into the side, with Christie Elliott doing well when deployed at right-back or right wing-back, as well as high profile summer signing Ziggy Gordon also vying for a starting slot in his position.

Dumbuya was unperturbed by the former Hamilton man’s arrival though, and is relishing the challenge of ousting either him or Elliott out of the side when he eventually comes back into contention.

“It’s the cruel world football,” said Dumbuya. “I know I’m not available so I know we had to get someone in who can fit into my position.

“I didn’t feel hard done by at all though, I was actually happy that we’d managed to get an established player from the league in who plays in my position.

“Ziggy and Christie are doing well, so I know that I’m not going to just walk back into the team. I know that I will have to fight hard for my position and I’m more than willing to do that.”