Defender Elliott Hewitt has expressed his delight in returning to the Mansfield starting line-up following 11 months out with a cruciate ligament injury.
The former Grimsby Town man was pleased to return to action against his local club Wrexham, despite being forced off inside two minutes after splitting his lip, but is now available for selection in Saturday’s Sky Bet League Two fixture with Crawley Town.
The versatile defender spoke about getting back on the pitch for the first time this season in a news conference at RH Academy on Wednesday.
“It wasn’t the best of starts to be fair,” he said. “I think the ball was probably there for him [Wrexham’s James McClean] to try and win it as well, [he was] a bit late but [there was] not much I could do about it really.
“It was frustrating. I broke my nose last year.
“I just put things up there to try and stop the bleeding and carry on but the fourth official was a bit strict and wouldn’t let me back on with a tissue to stop the bleeding so I needed stitches.
“It was going to take about 10 minutes and obviously we didn’t want to play with 10 men for basically the first 10 minutes so I had to come off.
“Hopefully I’ll have some involvement on Saturday and hopefully the game will go ahead. We need to get the wins on the board now.
“There’s not many games left and it’s tight at the top so we just need to do what we can.
“We’ve just got to continue what the lads have been doing all season and get as many wins as we can and as many points on the board.
“We’re right up there with a chance. Obviously we had a little blip against Wrexham, and Colchester we weren’t great. Hopefully that’s behind us now and we can kick on.”
When asked about Stags’ aims for the final six games, the Welshman insisted the side will take each game as it comes.
“It comes from the gaffer, he’s very good at keeping our feet on the ground and taking each game as it comes.”
The 29-year-old then went on to discuss his road to recovery over the last 11 months, since his last appearance at One Call Stadium on April 25th 2023.
“It’s been tough, boring and a bit lonely but I had to do it and the physio and staff here have been really good so I’ve had good care and hopefully now it’s behind me.
“It [the treatment] was pretty straightforward. Touch wood I've not had any major setbacks, I've hit all my targets on time and it was a long time but it all went well.
“The lads are flying. I’ve been to every home game and it’s been a pleasure to watch. Obviously I wanted to be out there but it’s been amazing to watch.”
