The Aston Villa striker hasn't appeared for the Gosford side since round five when he started against Perth Glory last month.

A niggling knee injury has kept him sidelined ever since and now the Mariners have allowed him to fly back to England for the injury to be assessed by Villa medics.

The club expects him to return before Christmas and are still hopeful of him being match fit by New Year's Eve.

“We’ve decided to send Ross back to Aston Villa to check in with a specialist," coach Mike Mulvey said today.

"We expect him back just before Christmas and the best situation we can see at this stage would be having Ross eligible for selection for our New Year’s Eve game against Perth Glory."

The club has been hit by a string of injuries but Mulvey is confident of having several players close to returning.

Tommy Oar has also been ruled out with a knee injury and Mulvey admitted: “Tommy won’t be eligible for selection this weekend against Wellington.

"He’s back running which is great news and we will hope to have him back for our game against Newcastle Jets at home on December 23."

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“We’re thrilled to have Jordan back this week. He’s one of the lads that we plucked from the NPL. He’s an exciting prospect, he’s chomping at the bit and deserves his opportunity,” Mulvey said.

Jonathan Aspropotamitis is also on the comeback trail after his ACL injury, with coaching staff now focused on rebuilding his confidence.

“Jonathan is nine months post-ACL injury, which is quite a traumatic injury," Mulvey said. "In my history of understanding players in that situation, it takes a little bit of time for them to gain their full confidence.

“He’s an absolute consummate professional, I love his attitude and he has been diligent with his recovery. It was great to see him play 65 minutes in the Youth League on the weekend.

"We will give him another run out with the youth team on the weekend and we hope he will make even better strides this weekend."

Corey Gamerio is also said to be close to a return.

Mulvey added: “Corey is another one that I’m sure fans are keen to see make his A-League debut in Mariners colours.

"He is working hard to return from a calf injury and we’re confident that we will have him back to full team training around that Christmas period.".