CHERRIES star Jason Tindall is focusing his attentions on earning a first-team recall after stepping up his whirlwind comeback this week.

Tindall took another giant step on the road to recovery when he came through his first 90-minute run out for more than five months during the reserves' 1-1 draw against Swansea in midweek.

It was another significant milestone for the 25-year-old who has continued to confound the medics since undergoing major surgery to cure a persistent ankle problem just 13 weeks ago.

Tindall, who also suffered knee, hamstring and thigh injuries last season, was forced to concede defeat in his battle to regain full fitness when he went under the surgeon's knife to repair ligament damage to his left ankle at the end of May.

And although the Londoner was expected to be back in action at the start of September, his meteoric return was capped when he was named as a substitute for Cherries' opening day defeat at Port Vale.

Since then, Tindall - firmly established as a first-team regular under Sean O'Driscoll - has made two brief appearances from the bench against Watford and Barnsley and is now targeting a return to the Cherries starting line-up.

Tindall, who had started all but three of Cherries' 102 league games under O'Driscoll before he suffered his knee injury in September, told the Daily Echo: "I needed that reserve game more than anything.

"You can do as much training as you like, but you just can't beat match fitness and I was just pleased to get 90 minutes under my belt and come through the game unscathed.," he said.

"We all know what happened to Shaun (Maher) when he went over on his ankle the day before the Port Vale game and that pushed me up the ladder a little bit.

"I was back a couple of weeks before schedule and the ankle felt fine. I had been training for a fortnight and once we got a couple of injuries, I don't think the manager had much choice but to put me on the bench. I was pleased to be involved.

"But I needed the reserve game probably more than anybody really because when you've been out for so long match practice is vital. Every game I play will stand me in good stead if I'm called upon.

"I had about 15 minutes against Watford and 10 minutes against Barnsley and it was great to be back and to pick up the pace again.

"The manager knows the situation and he has done well for me. He's hasn't thrown me in for too long, he's just building me up gradually and now I've got 90 minutes under my belt, I'm sure I'll feel a lot better and a lot fitter if called upon for the first team.

"Carl Fletcher and Karl Broadhurst have done superbly in the games they've played together this season and they've been really solid.

"If called upon then I'm confident I can come in and do a good job. At the end of the day it's the manager's decision and if he needs me, he knows I will do my best."

Cherries assistant manager Peter Grant added: "Jason was on the bench when he least expected it. He hadn't played any games and had only trained a few times with the first team.

"We've got such a small squad and he probably wouldn't have got that opportunity if everybody else had been fit. But it's good to have him back and it was great to see him get 90 minutes on Wednesday.

"Even if he gets back into the first team, he will probably need a few more reserve games to get back up to the speed of things, but he will be a big plus for us.

"He can play a couple of positions and with such a small squad, we have got to have players who are versatile and Jason is definitely that."