Liam Sercombe is poised to hand Exeter City a welcome boost ahead of tomorrow's trip along the south coast to Bournemouth after returning to training ahead of schedule.

The 21-year-old midfielder has been out for the past three weeks after suffering an ankle injury in the goalless draw with Hartlepool United, but after returning to training yesterday, he could be involved in manager Paul Tisdale's squad for the clash with the Cherries.

A place on the bench is most likely for the homegrown starlet, who himself has targeted next weekend's clash with Sheffield Wednesday as a more likely time to return.

"I have been doing bits of jogging for the last week or so and had my first training session today. It is still sore, but the ankle specialist said I have to just get through it," Sercombe said.

"The soft tissue is what's making it sore and I don't feel myself at the moment, so maybe, if I train Monday and Tuesday and feel more like myself, I am hoping to make the Sheffield Wednesday game next Saturday."

On how the injury occurred, Sercombe added: "I laid the ball off to Duffs [Richard Duffy] and someone clattered me, but it wasn't the tackle, it was the way I landed because I proper went over on my ankle.

"I knew I had done something straight away and tried to run it off. I came in the next day and they told me to go for scans, so I did.

"I did my metatarsal at the start of the season and I have been unlucky because I am never normally injured. This season, I haven't had much luck, but I will get through it, it will be three weeks on Saturday, so it isn't too long, it was two months last time."

Sercombe had scored in the game before the Hartlepool encounter – in the 2-0 win at Chesterfield – and that was the last goal scored by an Exeter player.

Since then, the Grecians have failed to register in three matches and as a result, they have slipped perilously close to the League One trapdoor.

"We have been in this position before two years ago, the players and the management staff," Sercombe added. "We know what it's all about and we just have to stick together during things like this, but we are a club that do that.

"We are struggling for goals at the moment, but I don't really know why. Hopefully they will start coming, we just need something to go for us and we can kick on from there.

"I listened to the Oldham game on the radio and we had a lot of chances, but it is just luck and it's not with us at the moment. It is good that we are having the chances because it means we are in the right places, hopefully they will start hitting the back of the net soon."

Sercombe added: "I had scored at Chesterfield and was unlucky to get injured in that time because I felt good and when you get a goal, you do feel more confident. But things like that happen in football. You get injured, but you just have to deal with it and you have to get on with it.

"I trained today and had a tough session, I felt good in myself, but I think I am a fit lad anyway. I do eat well, drink properly, I do everything right. Hopefully I can come back as I was when I got injured."

Meanwhile the club have confirmed that they have extended the loan spell of Reading striker Jake Taylor for another month.

The 20-year-old has made 17 appearances for the Grecians and scored two goals during his four months in Devon.