Preston North End midfielder Richard Chaplow could be set to make a timely return to action at Plymouth this weekend.
Chaplow has endured a frustrating start to 2010, the former West Brom man looked to have returned to top form following speedy recovery from hernia surgery, but the scar tissue from that operation caused him growing discomfort and the midfielder has been forced to sit out North End's last six Championship matches in order to alleviate the problem.
The 25-year-old could be set for a return to first team duty this weekend, with Paul Coutts suspended, Chaplow will be one of the key contenders to slot into that spare central midfield berth.
If Chappy does return against the Pilgrims, he will be making his comeback at what has been a happy hunting ground. Two seasons ago Chaplow scored a late late equaliser at Home Park, it was a goal which guaranteed North End's Championship survival, but this time around the PNE No.4 will be hoping his goals can fire Preston towards the Play-Offs.
"I remember that goal quite well," Chaplow told pne.com as he looked back on his late strike in a 2-2 draw with Plymouth.
"It was a good feeling to know that we were finally safe, hopefully if selected I can pop up again and score a goal which puts us closer to the Play-Offs."
Talk of goals might seem a bit optimistic from a man who has only scored two goals this season, but Chaplow's last goal for the Lilywhites was against the Pilgrims and his previous experiences of Plymouth should stand him in good stead.
He said: "You know when you get to Plymouth that the ball is going to be in the air most of them time when they have got the ball. Your two centre-halfs and your full-backs are going to have to be on form but in a 90 minute game of football you are always going to get a couple of chances and if you can put them away then you have got a good chance of winning.
"The lads are buzzing in training, everything is short and sharp, how it should be and we are benefitting from that on the pitch. We had a great win over Cardiff, one of the most dangerous teams in this league, a convincing 3-0 win will hopefully put confidence up there.
"Plymouth is not a very nice place to go and the pitch from what I've seen on TV doesn't look great but fingers crossed we can go down there and get a result in what will be a tough game.
"Fingers crossed we can put a good performance in and have a jolly coach journey back rather than having a journey where we are all down in the dumps."
Chaplow will be spending most of Saturday evening making that long coach journey back from the south coast, which is in stark contrast to last weekend for the midfielder. The birth of his child in the early hours of Sunday morning ensured that most of last weekend was spent in the maternity, an arrival which put back Chaplow's return to action.
"I think if I had managed to get a full week's training then I might have been back earlier, I trained Tuesday last week and then on Thursday I was in the hospital through to Friday and Saturday with the missus and that forced me to miss the game.
"These are things which you want to experience in life, the birth of your child is a big thing and unfortunately it fell on a Saturday, or Sunday morning as it was. The lads did well anyway, they got a great win and we are now looking forward to the game against Plymouth.
"I've been out for three weeks and I was probably struggling for the three weeks before that so I would have been quite happy to be on the sidelines, it would have been good to be back involved.
"With the sending off of Paul Coutts there is a space in there now for whoever the Gaffer chooses and hopefully if given the nod I will be able to go back to my old performances."
From the surgeon's knife to the maternity ward, Chaplow is now keeping his fingers crossed that he has seen the last of hospital theatres for some time. He admits that he has had a frustrating struggle with injury but he's now aiming to put that behind him and get back to doing what he does best on the field.
"I came back very quick from the initial operation and played quite a lot of games after that, full 90 minute games and it just took its toll a little bit," the midfielder said.
"I didn't have much chance to do any rehab and the general area got a little bit too tight and stiff, it's much the same thing that Neil Mellor had last year when he was struggling, he was out for a while. I have had three training sessions now and it feels a lot better so fingers crossed I can get back into the swing of things.
"I was doing alright before the op and I did quite well for five or six games after the op and then I started struggling. For the past two months I have been in pain while playing and just trying to get through the games to help us because we have got a small squad.
"I am hoping now that the little bit of rest that I have had can help me get back on top of the problem and get me through to the end of the season - fingers crossed there is more to come."
