PARIS Cowan-Hall is currently undergoing strength work in a bid to return to first-team action with Colchester United.

The 29-year-old attacker, who joined the U's from Wycombe Wanderers last summer, has not featured for John McGreal's side in League Two since last September due to injury.

Cowan-Hall has experienced a frustrating first campaign with the U's so far, having managed only five league appearances for them due to an Achilles problem.

The former Millwall and Plymouth Argyle player recently underwent an injection for his Achilles that has been troubling him since last October.

Cowan-Hall briefly returned to action for Colchester's under-23 side last month, playing around 50 minutes in their 2-1 defeat against Millwall in Professional Development League Two.

However, he suffered a recurrence of the injury that has hampered him over recent months and has recently seen a specialist again, in a bid to get to the bottom of the problem.

Colchester head coach John McGreal said: “It’s one step forward, two steps back with Paris.

“He played the other week, we thought he was on the right road and then he broke down again.

“He’s been to see a specialist and it’ll be another couple of weeks, to see how it is – it’s all about the strength work again.

“It’s a difficult one really as I think he’s only been around the first team at the time of the Tottenham and Macclesfield games and then he broke down again, so there’s obviously something sinister going on there, with him continually breaking down."

Meanwhile, Michael Fernandes continued his injury comeback for the under-23s in their 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town in the Professional Development League, on Monday.

Fernandes, who was among the U's first-team substitutes for their draw at Morecambe on January 11, sustained an ankle injury in an under-23 game last month.

The likes of Tom Lapslie, Tafari Moore, Omar Sowunmi, Ryan Clampin and Ethan Ross also featured for Colchester in their game against Ipswich.