BATH University student Hector Mackie hopes he can finally make his Weymouth debut after months of injury hell and is targeting the Blue Square South fixture at Bath City on February 20 for his Terras bow.

The 21-year-old former Stevenage Borough and St Albans City midfielder injured his cruciate ligaments in a 2-2 pre-season draw with a Yeovil Town XI and has not stepped on a football pitch since.

But with his recovery in full swing he could be back before the end of the season to help the Terras fight against Blue Square South relegation.

“I’ve been looking at the dates and it’s been five months since I got injured so I have a month until I’m playing and then I’m available for selection,” said Mackie. “The actual fusion of the ligament in the knee takes six months so you just have to wait six months then you can play, but I might be early by a week or a week after that.

“I’m at Bath University and we have great facilities – we have a big swimming pool, a world class gym and great instructors. I’m in there every day, sometimes twice a day.

“I’m looking at February 17 as about six months when the surgeon will say I’m fully fit.”

A lot has changed since Mackie last pulled on a Terras’ shirt, notably the change of ownership in the club and change of management from Matty Hale, who signed Mackie, to Ian Hutchinson.

Frustratingly, Mackie has had to sit back and watch as Weymouth slumped to the bottom of the table and nearly go into administration, but has been impressed with the turnaround in recent weeks.

“Hutch getting the job made a big difference – he has turned things around,” said Mackie. “The players have been unsettled with what’s been going on off the pitch.

“I haven’t been around much but the players we have got now seem to be prepared to work hard in every regard and we have a much better attitude in how we approach games and approach each other in the dressing room.”

Although it would have been easy for Mackie to drop off the radar altogether, he is determined to return and help guide the Blue Square South’s bottom side out of the relegation zone.

“It’s a good club, I’ve been mucked around by others,” added Mackie. “Matty Hale signed me and things went wrong there but the club has done well by me so I hope I can repay that in the last 12 to 13 games.”

Hutchinson commented: “If we can get him back before the end of the season it would be a massive boost – we’ve kept in touch and he’s been coming to games.He’s an up and down midfielder, gets stuck in, gets about the park and covers every blade of grass. He looked very bright in pre-season and it was such a shame he had this awful injury.”

n Weymouth Reserves’ trip to Blandford United in the Dorset Premier League, which was due to take place today at 2pm, has been postponed because of an unfit pitch at Blandford.

The Terras’ reserves have not played since November 28 following a series of postponements because of bad weather and cup replays.

Reserve team manager Dave Kiteley said: “I’ve never known anything like this in all the years I’ve been involved in football down here and up in the Midlands and we got horrendous winters in the Midlands.”

n Bridport’s trip to Shepton Mallet in Toolstation Western League Division One has also been called off.