June 28 2002

Simon Jordan is confident Ade Akinbiyi will return to full fitness by September - two months earlier than rumoured previously.

Akinbiyi's first operation to fix his knee problem failed and Jordan has since sent Akinbiyi to see a specialist in America to speed up his recovery.

After seeing reports in the press that Akinbiyi would be out until November, Jordan told the Croydon Advertiser: "I keep on reading this rubbish that Ade won't be back until November but I expect him back by September.

"There may be concerns in some quarters, but I'm the one who should worry - I paid out the money for the player."