Gethin Jones is eager to play his part in helping Wanderers reverse their fortunes after making a memorable comeback.
Jones returned to first-team duty for the first time since early October after recovering from a stress fracture to a lower leg.
His appearance from the bench for more than half an hour of Wanderers’ 2-0 home defeat to Wycombe Wanderers came on the same day he had stepped up his recovery with a 45-minute run-out in the reserves.
And the newly-appointed club vice-captain immediately looked back at home in the right-back role with his link-up with loan signing Marlon Fossey one of the plus-points of the night for Ian Evatt’s men.
“The plan was to get as much minutes in the reserve game this afternoon and then after about 25-30 minutes the gaffer and the coaching staff asked me if I was willing to be on the bench tonight and see how it goes,” explained Jones.
“And I just want to be back playing. I’ve got to look after myself as well but I just want to be back on the pitch with the lads and help us get back to where we should be.
“I loved it. I’ve got on well with Marlon in the last three or four days training with him.
“I think we linked up well and it’s just frustrating we couldn’t get anything at the end of it.”
Jones return to action is timely as Wanderers aim to arrest a four-match losing run in League One which has seen them slip to 18th place in the table.
Evatt’s squad has been dogged by injuries, with forward Elias Kachunga the latest to be ruled out for a prolonged spell with a thigh problem that could keep him out for a couple of months.
But Jones – whose introduction allowed on-loan Fulham man Fossey to take on a more attacking role – hopes his fitness concerns are behind him as he focuses on helping Wanderers get back to their best.
He added: “It feels good. It was really frustrating. After about two or three weeks I had no pain but with a stress fracture I couldn’t load it too quickly so I had to wait a good six to eight weeks until I could start doing any kind of running.
“It’s been a slow build-up but I’m just made up to be back out there with the lads now.
“I feel good now. I know the staff and the physios look after me so I will look after myself on the training ground on how much I do but I just want to be back out there with the lads every game and help us get back to where we should be.”
To watch the full-post match chat with Gethin, click HERE