The statement came recently, even as Mohun Bagan locked horns today with arch-rivals East Bengal in the first derby of the I-League.

Mondal himself, however, doesn’t sound too confident about returning to the field before the end of January. Mohun Bagan’s Indian international defender, who has been out of action for the last three months following a knee operation, has been undergoing light exercise for past one month following guidelines from renowned orthopaedic surgeon Dr Anant Joshi.

Speaking to The Indian Express last week, Mondal gave a clearer picture of the scenario. “I am in a much better shape now. But I cannot take part in I-League right away. It can take a few more months for me to acquire the required fitness level for any competitive match. So, I am expecting to join the I-League campaign only in the last week of January or maybe in the first week of February,” defender Mondal told this daily.

The experienced defender feels strongly about Mohun Bagan’s pedestrian showing in the I-League, prior to the derby clash. Asked to comment on his team’s performance: Mondal said: “Some lack of combination in the midfield as well as in the defensive organisation is continuing. Otherwise, considering the team’s counter-attacks in those matches I watched here in Kolkata, the performance hasn’t been that poor.”

His team may be desperately hoping for him to get back in the thick of the action as soon as possible, but Mondal isn’t sure if his club will clear the dues of the three months during which he stayed out of action due to the knee operation. He recalled the injury clause, which is part of the players’ contracts with the clubs, and it says that a club will pay the necessary dues only if the injury in question occured when the player was formally representing the club team.

Interestingly, the mandatory point in the agreement between a club and a professional player kicked up a storm last season and is still boycotted by some powerful professional club administrations in the Maidan.