Jonathan Téhoué is confident his hamstring tear hell is nearly over.
The French hitman and crowd favourite at Brisbane Road hopes to be back in action by the end of August.
Téhoué told Guardian Series Sport: “I have long way to go yet. I need a few more weeks.
“The season starts in next week and I’m taking my time to get it right. I will get there.
“I started training last week with the rest of the lads. It was a little bit difficult after four months with no football, and my body has to get used to it again.
“But I hope that I will be back by the end of August, if everything goes well.”
Téhoué received a rousing welcome from home fans for his second half appearance against Spurs on Wednesday night.
“I enjoyed it, even though I lost a lot of balls” he said afterwards.
“But this is all part of the work, so I have to stay focused. I think the 2-2 draw wasn’t fair, as we had a lot of chances in the first half. But it was just a friendly.
“It’s a long time since I played and I have to keep my fitness up and keep working and get my sharpness back.
“Last season was really frustrating for me” he continued. “I didn’t have the chance to play many games, so I’m looking forwards to the new season.”
The 26 year-old said he wants Orient to go as high as possible up League One, under boss Russell Slade.
“Let’s play the first five games and after that we will see” said Téhoué. “Every season is a new start, and we are quite a small club so let’s see how we do.
“We want to get as high as possible.”
He is also adapting to Slade’s industrial approach in training.
“The gaffer has a different way of working from Geraint Williams (previous manager)”
Russell Slade is really committed and he knows exactly what he wants. It’s always the way it is that you get used to it (change of boss) and when you do, it’s fine.”
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