GUISELEY boss Mark Bower has backed Oli Johnson to conjure more magic in the coming weeks after his long-awaited comeback.

The forward made his first appearance of the campaign during Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at home to Tranmere Rovers after a torturous injury battle.

The 28-year-old came off the bench and almost capped his return with a winning goal as his shot curled wide of the far post.

Bower, whose side head to Bromley on Saturday, said: “It would have been fantastic for Oli if that had gone in after the nightmare period he has had.

“I really feel for him because he’s come in and done his work but not been able to get on the pitch.

“Hopefully the operation he has had and the rehab he has done will stand him in good stead now, so we can gradually build him up and let the supporters see the player that he is.

“We know that he is a match-winner on his day and he’s been very sorely missed.

“A lot of these games we have drawn, a bit of magic from Oli Johnson could have turned those into wins, so he’s been a big miss.

“We’ll look after him properly and we can’t expect too much too soon, but it’s great to have him back in the side and I think it gave everyone a lift when he came on.”

Guiseley hope to climb further away from National League relegation danger this weekend but Bower said: “It’s a tricky one because Bromley have been a little bit up and down.

“They had a great start to the season, hit a sticky path a couple of months ago, but since then I think they have won four of the last five games and drawn the other one.

“They won on Tuesday and it will be a really tough place to go, but on the whole we have been doing pretty well. If we can maintain the level of performance we showed against Tranmere, we’ve got a great chance of getting a result.”