Purewal to make long-awaited Darlington return on Saturday

The striker will be on the bench for Quakers’ match with Skelmersdale at Heritage Park after overcoming anterior cruciate ligament damage sustained in December 2014.

His road to recovery has been long and arduous, suffering several setbacks along the way, but he has stepped up his training in recent weeks and is now ready for a first-team return.

Manager Martin Gray explained, however, should Purewal be used as a substitute, his appearance would commence the final stage of his rehabilitation as it will take time to recapture peak fitness and sharpness.

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“Amar’s back in contention and he’ll be on the bench,” confirmed Gray.

“He’s been signed off by the specialist and comes straight to the squad.

“It’s like a new signing because he hasn’t played for so long, and he’s been such an important player at the club.

“It’ll be a boost for everybody to have him back.

“It will take a few weeks yet, but he’s trained fully for the last month, but he’s still not got that sharpness and the sprinting 100 per cent, but he’s moving freely and looking good in training.”

While Purewal will be a substitute on Saturday, there is a strong chance Gray will send him out on loan to a Northern League club in order to gain more minutes of first-team action.

Gray added: “He’s been looked after well, a top specialist did the operation for him, but it’s been a case of being patient and getting it right.

“We’ve taken our time with him, and now it’s time to get him some competitive football.”

Speaking to The Northern Echo in September, Purewal had said he hoped to return before December 20th – the first anniversary of his injury.

It occurred late on during a 2-2 draw with Radcliffe Borough, but remarkably he completed the game having not realised the severity of the injury. Furthermore, after the match he drove to meet family in Coventry, only discovering three weeks later that he had ruptured his cruciate ligament.