Significant Bradford City injury update issued by Graham Alexander | OneFootball

Bradford City boss Graham Alexander has given a big update on the fitness of striker Andy Cook.

Bradford City head coach Graham Alexander has given a positive update on the fitness of striker Andy Cook, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury against Barrow on New Year's Day.

34-year-old Cook scored 15 times in the first half of last season, before seeing his campaign end in the early stages of the January 1 clash at Holker Street.

The Bantams would go on to achieve promotion to League One on the final day of the campaign, and they won their first match back in the third tier on Saturday afternoon, beating Wycombe 2-1 on home soil.

Bradford City manager Graham Alexander delivers Andy Cook update

As reported by the Yorkshire Post, Cook trained with his teammates for the first time since the injury on Monday after Bradford's opening weekend win.

Alexander did not name a particular date that he expects to see the striker back in action, but mentioned that Cook will be back in contention, all being well, in the Autumn months.

"He's worked exceptionally hard to put himself in this position so far," Alexander said whilst speaking at his most recent press conference ahead of Saturday's away clash at Northampton Town.

"It's one day on, one day off to see how his knee responds to the load he's put through. He trained with the players, but we need to understand that he's not just coming back from a month."

"There are still a few hurdles for him to get over to make sure he's in the best condition he can be for a full return. His progress has been good. It's been important for him in the last few days to be out there training with the players."

Cook joined the club from Mansfield in 2020 and is now the club's longest-serving player. Alexander highlighted that it is important to manage expectations ahead of the forward's return, as there will not be many years left of the target man's career at the age of 34.

"We can't jump ahead, and we have to manage Cooky's expectations with that," Alexander added.

"Once he is back, it needs to be for the full time and not just stop-start."

Andy Cook was a fantastic acquisition for Bradford City - his return cannot come soon enough

Since arriving at Valley Parade permanently following a loan spell in the 2020/21 term, Cook has continued to shift through the gears for the Bantams.

He has rattled in 85 goals across 192 appearances, and his fantastic 31-goal campaign in 2022/23 will always be remembered fondly by supporters.

Recovering from such a serious injury at 34 is never an ideal situation to be in; however, with Cook's goal record for the club in mind, he has done more than enough to warrant a shot in the third tier at Valley Parade, and it will be a huge boost to have the experienced forward ready for first-team action sooner rather than later.

After getting the first win of the season under their belt at home, Bradford are now looking ahead to their first away trip of the season, where they will face Northampton Town. Stephen Humphrys will likely lead the line like he did against Wycombe once more, and when Cook returns from his knee issues, the two could potentially make a formidable partnership.