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Northampton Town defender Tyler Magloire was delighted "to have the first one out of the way" after making his comeback from a serious knee injury.

The 25-year-old ruptured the ACL and MCL in his knee during a League Two game against Colchester United in February 2023.

But he finally made it back out on to the pitch for the second half of Saturday's 3-0 pre-season defeat by Norwich City.

"The performance wasn't exactly important, it was just about getting back out there after a long time and hopefully I'll be ready to go when the real games come around," he told ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Northampton.

"After being out for so long it kind of felt like a free hit," he added. "If I played bad I had an excuse almost - it was about playing free, no stress and I was happy to be there.

"There's been a lot going on behind the scenes, just to be able to play those 45 minutes is a reward at the end of a long road."

Magloire signed a three-year contract with the Cobblers in the summer of 2022 having played 10 games the previous season during a loan spell from Blackburn.

He made 10 appearances in 2022-23, scoring twice before the injury ended his season prematurely and he was unable to play as the Cobblers clinched promotion to League One.

Now though, he is back and hoping to feature right from the start as Northampton begin their second successive season in the third tier.

"I want to be involved from the first game and throughout (the season) but there's still a lot of work to do to make sure I can be on the pitch for the first game," he said.

"I did a lot of work in the off-season to make sure I was ready for the first day (of pre-season) and it was exciting to finally be back out there with everybody."

Of his long lay-off, he said: "You're up and down, watching the games, it becomes really difficult because you're desperate to be out there.

"You're away from the team a lot, you've got a lot of time on your own, in your own head, but you have to keep your eyes on the prize of being back out there."

Northampton will start the 2024-25 season with an away game against Bristol Rovers on 10 August.