ELLIS DUNTON has joined Cirencester Town’s survival bid in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier from the other side of the world.

Former Town star Dunton left for Australia last March and his first year in Adelaide has been nothing if not eventful.

In only his eighth game for State League side Salisbury United he suffered a horrific match day injury which required surgery to remove a testicle.

He was back playing in four weeks and not only helped Salisbury Utd's play-off push – they missed out by just one place – he also, bizarrely, turned out for the Democratic Republic of Congo in the final of the African Nations Cup tournament in South Australia.

But more of that later.

Dunton landed at Heathrow Airport in the early hours of Friday morning and joined his former team-mates at Dunstable on Saturday, watching the side earn a well-deserved point with a stoppage-time equaliser to take their unbeaten run to four games.

With his international clearance already ratified, Dunton is free to line up in the relegation six-pointer at home to fellow strugglers Hayes & Yeading on Saturday and hopes to have a run-out before then when the Development team takes on Hook Norton at the Corinium Stadium on Tuesday night.

No-nonsense defender Dunton was a member of the 2013/14 Southern League-winning team and arguably the most promising young player in the Cirencester Town squad. He had made 183 first-team appearances by the age of 22 when he left on a year-long visa to Adelaide last March, with a view to making a new life Down Under.

“I love Australia and the laid back lifestyle and I’m adapting to the very hot weather,” he said.

“I’ve come over with my girlfriend Kimberley and I don’t fly back until May. I haven’t played 90 minutes of football since November – it's the close season over there – but I keep myself pretty fit and I can’t wait to get back involved in the final few games of Ciren’s season and see what I can do to help. “I will also be able to play in the memorial game for (former Development team-mate) James Smith on Easter Sunday. “Salisbury United, play in the third tier of the game in Australia which is about the same standard as the Hellenic Premier.

“But you have to take into account the totally different style of football because of the 35 degree heat. It is much more about possession football, not end-to-end stuff.

“I’ve gained a lot of experience playing for them and I’m sure I have improved certain aspects of my game.

“I haven’t yet decided what type of visa I’ll be going back on, but I have a verbal agreement to play for Adelaide Raiders, who are in the second tier. Their season starts this month and goes on until August.”

Of the shocking injury that quite literally left him a changed man, Dunton recalled: “We had an attacking set piece and I was jumping for a header at the back post when I landed on someone’s boot on the way down.

“I managed to finish the last 10 minutes of the game but the pain was getting excruciating. As I left the pitch, one of my testicles was the size of my fist.

“I was in hospital by 9pm that night and had surgery to have it removed by 10am the following morning. I was on the ward for three days and in bed for a week.

“The doctors told me to do nothing for two months but I got bored and I was back playing in four weeks. It’s all good now and there have been no knock-on problems.”

Dunton, still only 23, follows the fortunes of Cirencester Town in Oz on Twitter and through chats with his great mate Aidan Bennett.

“It was great to see so many familiar faces on Saturday, especially with Glyn (Garner) and Gethin (Jones) back at the club, and I knew both Matt (Coupe) and Alan (Griffin) from my brief spell with Chippenham,” he said. “The game against Hayes on Saturday is going to be huge and it is great to have the prospect of playing in such a important game."

Dunton’s last big game came back in October when he was invited to play for DR Congo in the African Nations Cup in South Australia, a tournament which has been run since 2001 for African players in the Adelaide area.

“There were some African lads in the Salisbury team and they asked me to join them as a guest player,” said Dunton.

“It’s taken very seriously and we got through five matches before losing to Burundi in the final.”