ORIENT fans will be boosted by the news that three of the club's long-term injury casualties aim to be ready for the new season.

Both Greg Heald and Jabo Ibehre will have had operations on troublesome hip and groin problems respectively over the coming week, while Dave McGhee hopes to have recovered from the horrendous achilles injury that has seen him sidelined since September.

Heald, who goes into hospital on Saturday, had expected to miss the first couple of weeks of next season after jarring his hip against Rushden and Diamonds, but the former Barnet man is determined to line up in the heart of the O's defence come the big kick-off.

He said: "It is a big blow to have to go in for an operation because I've really been enjoying it here since I arrived.

"I had a phone call though from Mr Villar, the surgeon, recently and the good thing is that he has brought the operation forward a week. He is a top surgeon and I am confident that if everything goes well I will be back playing for the start of the season.

"And while that will mean I won't have much of a break over the summer, it is a small price to pay for having a full season back in the Football League and hopefully I can be part of a team that delivers the fans some success."

Meanwhile Ibehre, who went under the surgeon's knife on Tuesday, remains up-beat that his persistent groin injury will finally be cured, enabling him to start to live up to the potential he showed when he first broke into the team.

He said: "It has been frustrating that even after having a double groin operation last year the problem has never really cleared up on my left side.

"Hopefully though this time the clean up op will rectify that and it will respond just as well as the right side did to the initial operation.

"I had hoped to come back with a bang this season because I know that I haven't really progressed in the way I would have liked over the lasy two years.

"But I have got high hopes for both myself and the team for next year and hopefully we won't let the fans down this time because I really want to repay them for the support they have continued to give me."

And McGhee, who suffered his career-threatening injury in the Worthington Cup game against QPR and had to watch Orient's season fall apart from the stands, is just glad to be involved again.

He added: "It hasn't been a good season for me, because I suffered the injury early on and it was one that was very slow in the progress I have been able to make.

"I am back in training now and can do most things, although the manager has been keen not to rush me back. You can get down not being able to train, but the lads have been brilliant and helped to keep me going.

"I never had any doubts that I would be back, but I must admit that had I been one of the out of contract players then things could have been a lot worse.

"Hopefully if I train every day over the summer I can build myself up and be ready for the start of the season, one which I hope will go a lot better for both me and the club."