Women's football: Notts County Ladies and England striker Ellen White on recovery

Notts County striker Ellen White admits she’s desperate to return to playing football after confirming she remains on course for a comeback just after Christmas.

The England international has been out of action since April after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a pre-season friendly at Durham.

But the former Arsenal forward revealed her recovery is progressing well and insists she is keen not to try and force a return from injury too quickly.

“This season is a little bit too soon for me to come back but I’m hoping to return by about December or January,” White told Sky Sports.

“My recovery is going well and I’ve just stepped up my running which is great because it’s nice that I’m now able to do a little bit of warming up now with the team.

“I don’t want to be silly and push myself and affect my longevity of playing. January is probably most likely for me to be able to play fully and I’m really looking forward to that because I just want to play now.

“I just want to be out there kicking every ball which is annoying.”

White, who suffered a similar injury several years ago, admits she feels a different sense of frustration this time round as she has been unable to play competitively for Notts County since her move from Arsenal.

“I did pre-season with Notts County and that was going really well,” she said. “I was enjoying it, felt like I was really sharp and was scoring goals, which is always nice for a striker.

“It felt like it was going to be a good season but it was really frustrating not to be able to play a league game.

“I felt really bad for my team and my manager and it’s hard watching your team-mates play when you want to be out there pushing them and helping them along as well.

“It’s a been a different world for me being restricted to the sidelines and encouraging them.”

White played in the early stages of England’s successful qualifying campaign for next year’s World Cup and the 25-year-old admits she is motivated by the opportunity to play in the showpiece once again.

“It’s definitely something I’ve got one eye on – I’d be silly not to,” she said.

“First and foremost I just want to get fit sharp and playing well for Notts County to be selected but to play in another World Cup would be an amazing achievement.

“I was very privileged to play in Germany in 2011 which was an unbelievable World Cup and to be involved in another one would be another dream come true but I’m just concentrating on getting fit for Notts County at the moment.”