Omar Daley came through his first speed check and confirmed he is still as quick as ever.

The jet-paced Jamaican emerged unscathed from the final 20 minutes at Carlisle on Tuesday.

It was his first senior appearance since he snapped his cruciate against Darlington in February.

Daley was delighted to be back – and immediately set his sights on featuring again in the weekend trip to Aldershot.

He said: “The time has gone fast (since getting injured) and it’s great to play with the lads and get to know them again.

“It was a bit hard coming back with ten men, I wasn’t expecting that. I was hoping to enter the pitch leading 1-0 with 11 guys but came on 2-0 down and chasing the game.

“It took me five minutes to get there but I did in the end. And I checked the pace – and I’ve still got it.

“It’s so much better getting out there on the pitch than training. The feel of a proper game is what it’s all about.

“But I’ll take any chance to play. I just need the games now to build up my sharpness.”

The 3-0 defeat at Brunton Park knocked some gloss off the occasion but, after ten months stuck on the sidelines, Daley is determined to think positively.

He said: “It was a bad result but I thought the lads played well. It was always going to be hard coming on but it felt good. I appreciated the chance to do the business again.”

City’s resources have been further stretched for Saturday’s long haul to Hampshire because Simon Ramsden is banned.

But boss Stuart McCall said: “We’ve been up against it with injuries and refereeing decisions lately.

“Aldershot will have been sitting at home in their free week watching our result at Carlisle and seeing we got a player sent off.

“But we’ll go there on Saturday and give it a good go. It’s a tough place to visit but I’m sure we can come back with something positive.”