Everton striker Onyekuru returns to training as the recovery from his knee injury continues

EVERTON striker Henry Onyekuru has returned to training having made a full recovery from a terrible knee injury in December which threatened to end his season and dash his hopes of appearing at the World Cup.

Onyekuru, 20, one of Nigeria's brightest prospects, is an Everton players who has been loaned out to Belgian giants Anderlecht. In December, he sustained a serious knee injury during a league match against one of his former clubs KAS Eupen and initial reports suggested his season was effectively over and that could also mean his hopes of playing at the World Cup in Russia.

However, it subsequently emerged that the injury was not as bad as initially feared and the player has been rehabilitating over the last three months. Now, the striker has completed the first stage of his rehabilitation successfully and the second stage which involves running on the treadmill, has started.

Yesterday, Onyekuru took to Twitter to express his delight at his return to fitness with a post on top of a video of himself running on the treadmill tagged: "I’m back running and feeling good. Thank you all for your kind messages."

Battling to win a spot in Nigeria’s squad for the World Cup in Russia, it is not yet clear when Onyekuru will return to playing for Anderlecht. Nigeria plays two friendlies in March against Poland and Serbia on the 23rd and 27th but it appears that they are coming too soon for Onyekuru, who will still be short of fitness by then.