Pools number one, Joel Dixon, returned to the matchday squad on Saturday afternoon for the first time since late August.

It’s been over five months since the goalkeeper went down with a knee injury in the first half against Braintree Town on August 31.

The extent of that setback turned out to be a long-term ACL injury, with Dixon missing over five months of action.

Having returned to full training last month, Dixon achieved another milestone in his road to recovery as he was named on the bench during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Sutton United.

“It was a really nice moment,” he stated.

“It’s been a long road to recovery for myself. A lot of people have supported me, Danny O’Connor has stayed with me for every step of the way.

“The injury came at a bad time, I was feeling really good in my performances. I kept four clean sheets from my first six games and I was feeling confident.

“I felt my knee go and I knew it would be a bad one. It was tough to take, a lot’s happened since I’ve been out and it’s hard not being out there with the lads.

“I’ve been eased back into training over the last month and with Brad Young going back to Leicester, I was named on the bench on Saturday.

“I’ve missed that matchday feel. It’s been tough and quite lonely at times, training hard through the week then not having a game.

“Being back around the squad and now available for selection again, it feels amazing.

“Adam Smith has been great with me. He’s a good friend off the pitch and his performances have been great recently.

“For me, I’m taking things carefully as I’ve been out for a while, but I intend on pushing Adam as much as possible to maximise our goalkeeping performances.”