ANTHONY McGRATH is targeting a return to top form by the time Yorkshire’s LV County Championship campaign resumes against leaders Durham at the Riverside a week on Saturday.

The 35-year-old batsman’s summer has been interrupted by knee and back injuries, which have forced him to miss four Championship and four Clydesdale Bank 40 matches.

His injury nightmare started in March when he underwent surgery on his left knee, which had suffered wear and tear over recent years.

He then suffered sciatic pain in his back, which proved to be a knock-on effect from the knee problem.

Having missed the four-day season opener against Worcestershire in early April, he returned to face Nottinghamshire and Durham before spending another three weeks on the sidelines with a recurrence of his back issue.

He described it at the time as the worst pain he has ever experienced, and was not even able to walk up the stairs comfortably.

Now the ex-England man has admitted: “I’m feeling better with each innings.”

McGrath has not yet recorded a 50 in the first team in 2011, although he did score 79 playing for the seconds against Warwickshire through the middle of last month.

He then scored 44 in the last Championship match against Sussex at Hove and 28 in the Friends Life t20 opener against Warwickshire at Headingley last Friday.

“I missed the latter stages of pre-season, when the cricketing side of things really step up. That means you’re playing catch-up once the season starts,” he said.

“But the injury seems to be getting better, and I’m certainly feeling myself more and more at the crease.

“I’m hoping that by the time the Championship starts again, having got some Twenty20s under my belt, I should be in full swing.”

McGrath’s absence has contributed to Yorkshire’s inability to field a settled side, with a handful of injuries striking the squad at various times during the first two months.

He added: “We lost Tim Bresnan last month when he would have played a couple of games at least for us.

“There’s also been myself, Gerard Brophy, Rich Pyrah, Joe Sayers and Ajmal Shahzad.

“It’s been very difficult for Galey and Martyn in terms of their selection.

“It’s been completely different to last year. When things go well, you don’t seem to get any injuries. Now we’re finding that there seem to be new ones almost every week.”

McGrath’s next opportunity to build on his form will come tomorrow when the White Rose host Worcestershire in the Friends Life t20 competition at Headingley.

Having lost their opening two North Division matches, they need to get off and running as they attempt to secure one of the four qualification places from the nine-team group.

Meanwhile, Bresnan has returned to the nets as he recovers from a torn right calf muscle. He was ruled out for four to six weeks on May 17.