When the Wingmakers left the OPS Wind Arena pitch following a nerve jangling JD Welsh Cup victory against Llandudno in early September, a jovial atmosphere in the squad was underpinned by concern for the well-being of their teammate.

It was midway through the first half against Sean Eardley's side when a star of early season success hobbled off with a grimace of pain edged across his face.

A typical jinking run on the left flank by the nimble forward was halted by a late tackle which left Nathan Brown lying stricken on the turf.

The airy silence of a bumper home crowd and swift response of players to stop the eagerly contested cup tie showed an overwhelming expectancy that the diagnosis for Brown wouldn't be a favourable one.

These fears would prove to be justified following an agonising wait for news from a scan in the hospital for the Englishman.

"I saw the X-ray and was told I had broken three metatarsals," Brown explained.

"I knew instantly that I had done some damage but I was just hoping there was nothing broken. I was a bit shocked as I hoped it wouldn't be that bad."

The disappointment of a long term injury is always huge for a footballer at any level, but for the 23-year-old the blow was further heightened after his breathtaking displays in the early weeks of the campaign.

Brown was flying high, enjoying his first tastes of competitive football for the Bus, tormenting defences game after game in the JD Cymru North.

"I felt like I was doing really well before the injury. I was probably playing my best football for a long time getting assists and scoring one.

"I was hoping to get some more goals so to get injured at that time was frustrating."

Despite the unfortunate event that occurred on that Friday night under the lights in Llandudno, feelings of discouragement soon subsided. There was a focus from the former Chester man to overcome an issue that would sideline him for the foreseeable future.

A tunnelled vision approach adopted by Brown has been aided by his family and progress continues to be made in a long, arduous recovery process.

"Thankfully I have great support from my Mum and Dad that has kept me focused.

"I was given crutches and a protective boot and told no weight bearing for two weeks. I then had a scan were I was told I could remove the boot and try gentle walking.

"I saw the physio last week and he feels my recovery is ahead of schedule. I don't need the crutches or boot now.

"I've done some physio at the club and I've started to do some exercises and jogging."

Six weeks have now past since our number 20 suffered his injury. Whilst the fortunes of the Bus have not deteriorated in his absence, the presence of the youngster is still missed in Steve O'Shaughnessy's squad.

However, it shouldn't be too much longer before Brown is back on the field in Airbus colours contributing to attempting to achieve the club's ambition of winning the league title this term.

"I'm hoping I can come back soon, maybe in the next couple of weeks to get some minutes on the pitch.

"My aim is to get back into the starting XI and start adding goals as well as keeping up with the assists.

"As a team we want to keep winning games and staying top of the league is the focus for us now."