Dom Ball has praised the Town medical staff for the fact that he has returned from injury ahead of schedule after it seemed he would be ruled out until next season.
The versatile Ball, who has played at full-back, central defence and in midfield during his career, ruptured a meniscus in November last year and admits that even he was taken aback when he was given the all-clear to resume playing.
He said: "Initially, that was the plan, that I would have a busy summer getting ready for next season. I was shocked and genuinely couldn’t believe it when I was told I could be playing again before the end of this season.
"I’m over the moon that I am back, not just involved but actually playing. It takes three or four weeks of proper training to get fit enough and regain your sharpness to play again. Maybe the last couple of games, when I’ve come on, I’m definitely feeling a lot sharper.
"I had never been injured before so I didn’t know what to expect. I just knew I was going to do everything I could to get back and to be in even better shape than I was before the injury. I’m getting there and I’m really happy to be part of things again.
"The medical people at the club have been brilliant. I was quite lucky that when I was injured, they didn’t have many other injured players to look after. I was designated a physio to myself and we worked very well together, while I can’t thank everyone else enough for what they did.”
Ball has featured as a late substitute in the recent league games against Shrewsbury, Derby, Wycombe, Charlton and Peterborough, and he added: "If you ask any player — and this is especially the case with me — they will tell you they are desperate to play. It’s like that with me, 100 per cent, because I’d love nothing more than to be playing and helping the team.
"But at the moment I understand we need to get promoted. When Lee [Evans] was playing at the start of the season the boys were on fire, playing really well. All I can do is make sure I’m pushing them as hard as I can so they continue to play well. Then, when I’m needed, that I’m ready.
"Could I cope with a full 90 minutes? Yes, I would do, because I’m feeling really good right now.”
Ball is likely to be on the bench at Barnsley tomorrow as Town look to extend their unbeaten league run to 17 games and move closer to clinching promotion back to the Championship. Victory at Oakwell would leave the Blues needing all three points on Saturday, when Exeter visit Portman Road for the final home game of the season, to clinch a second-tier return.
Reflecting on the race to finish in the top two, Ball said: "It’s been crazy that all of the top three clubs have reached 90 points and I even compare it to Wrexham and Notts County in the National League, where they have gone over 100 points, each of them.
"It just shows you the quality of some of the teams down the divisions and especially in our league. I’ve been very impressed by some of the teams we’ve played in League One this season. You train hard, you play over 40 games and yet it still comes down to the last two games, maybe even the very last day, before you know what’s what. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing.
"I’ve always been impressed with Barnsley, especially with their style of play. They are very aggressive and they press very high, so they do make it hard for teams to control the game, but I feel that if anyone can, we can.
"I’m sure the manager will have a plan but the most important thing is going there and making sure that when we get back on the coach to come home, we’ve got the three points.
"If you’re going to win promotion, automatically I mean, you’ve got to have confidence. It comes from doing it week in, week out, and everyone has seen that. It’s not a case of turning up and it’s lucky that it happens. We put a lot of work in and we prepare properly.
"It would be incredible to win tomorrow and then wrap things up with another win over Exeter. It would be incredible just going up, whenever, but if we can do it in front of our fans, who have been amazing all season, it would be a massive moment for everyone.”