JIM McNulty took another step on the road to recovery last night – but he will not be ready for first team action with Albion before September.

McNulty made his first start since having a kidney removed in February in a 2-0 friendly win for an Albion XI against Shoreham at Middle Road.

The former Stockport defender followed his late appearance as a substitute at Scunthorpe on Saturday with an hour-long run-out.

McNulty is ahead of schedule and his progress is pleasing the medical staff but physio Jim Joyce has sounded a note of caution about when the Liverpudlian will be available for first-team action.

Joyce said: “We’ve got a player who has been out of the game for six months. You wouldn’t expect someone who had been out of the game for six months with a cruciate injury to go straight back into the first team after two partial appearances.

“The realistic thing for first team football would be possibly some time in September if everything goes well.

“He is slightly ahead of schedule at the moment and making very good progress. The next thing will be to try and see if we can get him through 90 minutes.”

Joyce is planning to put McNulty in touch with another footballer who lost a kidney.

He revealed: “The same thing happened to the goalkeeper that played against us at Torquay last week (Scott Bevan).

“I know him, because he was a kid at Southampton when I was there. I have arranged to get him and Jim together on the phone so that Scott can let Jim know how he has got back.

“I will be doing that in the next few days but, as for Jim himself, he is feeling good. It is really a case of just increasing the amount of work he does in matches.

“He is probably a week or a week and a half behind the boys from pre-season but he worked all through the summer so his general fitness levels are not far off.

“The other thing we have got to be wary of is that it will not necessarily be a straight climb back to fitness.

“There will be little dips and, although he is up for it all the time mentally, there may be some days when he will not be quite up for it physically.”

Jamie Smith celebrated signing a one-year contract by setting up the first goal against Shoreham and scoring the second.

The diminutive former Crystal Palace midfielder released second-year scholar George Barker for the opener in the 73rd minute, then struck with an angled right-foot drive five minutes later.

Kevin McLeod and Colin Hawkins were both in the wars. McLeod needed treatment on three different occasions in the opening 45 minutes and the winger did not re-appear for the second half.

Hawkins also had to be patched up by assistant physio Paul Watson on more than one occasion after sustaining a cut left eye in an accidental early clash of heads.

The strong Albion line-up, captained by Adam El-Abd, attracted a healthy crowd to Middle Road to boost Shoreham’s funding for new floodlights.

The Seagulls gave a run-out to Tonbridge Angels striker Carl Rook.

The former Horsham striker had one headed chance from a McNulty cross in the first half and hit a post 13 minutes into the second period with the goalkeeper beaten.

Albion: Pelling; El-Abd, Hawkins, Cook, McNulty (sub James Smith 62), McLeod (sub Redwood 46), Ide, Jamie Smith (sub Thomson 79), Brinkhurst, Rook, Barker.