Austin damaged his shoulder against Southampton on 11 September

Swindon Town striker Charlie Austin says the threat of surgery on his damaged shoulder forced him to sit on the sidelines for over a month.

The 21-year-old made a scoring comeback as a substitute in the 5-4 defeat to Peterborough on Saturday.

"It was really frustrating," Austin told BBC Wiltshire.

"But if I'd come back too early and it went again I'd have had to have an operation and would have been out for three months."

Austin continued: "But it's great to get back out there and be involved again and to score was a real bonus.

Swindon have had an inconsistent start to their campaign after reaching last season's play-off final.

They currently sit in 15th spot in League One having won just four of their opening 12 league fixtures but Austin is confident the team will be challenging for promotion again.

"We're not a mid-table team and we've got the players and staff to be up in the play-offs and getting promotion," he said.

"But we need to get three points on Saturday [against Leyton Orient] to get back up there because the boys believe we can do it."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version