LUCKLESS Cherries star Ryan Garry has been handed a welcome double boost as he continues to make good progress on the long road to recovery.

The accomplished defender has been sidelined for almost four months after sustaining a broken right leg just seven games into his Cherries career in September.

Garry, who had only just returned from a near four-year lay-off after being plagued by problems with his shins, fractured his tibia during a collision with Northampton's Andy Kirk.

But the amiable 24-year-old can now finally see some light at the end of the tunnel in his painstaking bid for fitness - and has also been offered the tonic of a new contract.

Mindful of his injury record at former club Arsenal, Cherries were prudent with their initial offer to Garry and the six-month deal he penned in the summer expired at the end of December.

Cherries boss Kevin Bond told the Daily Echo: "I'm trying to work something out to keep him here. We haven't seen the best of him yet and we would like to give him that opportunity.

"He needs that as well and if we can find a way of coming to an agreement that keeps him here until the end of the season then that's what we would like to do.

"He's a terrific and determined lad. He had his problems in the past but this was an unfortunate injury that anybody could have picked up. To a degree, there is an obligation to do our best to try to help him if we can.

"His progress has been satisfactory and as we expected and we're all pleased to see him back around the training ground again.

"It's too early to put a time on when we can expect to see him back wearing a Bournemouth shirt and I wouldn't want to put him or us under that kind of pressure.

"It will take as long as it takes and quite often with these things it's how you feel in yourself and everybody is different. He'll have all the time he needs to recover."

Garry, who has politely declined to conduct any interviews as he concentrates on his rehabilitation programme, has been working under the watchful eye of Cherries physio Steve Hard.

He told the Daily Echo: "At this moment in time, Ryan is running and should be back in training in three weeks' time so we're looking at the latter part of January.

"Since his injury, he's had follow ups with the surgeon he used previously when he was at Arsenal and his last X-ray was at the beginning of December, which gave him the all-clear and showed the fracture had fully healed.

"The surgeon saw no risk in him starting to jog. He's been jogging for just over two weeks and the plan was four to six weeks from when he got the all-clear so we're still on schedule."