THE Bluebirds treatment room is finally beginning to empty and manager Steve White could be boosted by the return of midfielder Mark Badman this week.

The former Bath City player has not started a game for the Bluebirds since August when he suffered a hernia problem. He had already been playing through an achilles complaint at the time but the new injury forced him onto the sidelines.

He has now returned to full training and is desperate to get back on the field and show the new manager what he can do. "I started full training again last week and the injury is feeling fine now,"he said.

"Training has been good and the new manager has made things very professional. He had a word with me when he joined and told me not to rush back too soon. He said he'd rather have me for the rest of the season than getting injured again after a couple of games."

Badman underwent the hernia operation in November and had a period of rest before returning stepping up his training regime.

He was hoping to be involved in last night's league cup tie at Newport.

"It depends what the manager thinks but it would be nice to get a half or maybe just ten minutes,'' he said.

"I just want to do my best, train hard and hopefully be available for selection on Saturday."

Badman admitted it had been frustrating watching his team-mates struggle to find any form this season.

"I think we just need to get a win and go from there," he said.