Cobblers defender Lintott hopes to be over his 'frustrating’ injury ​

The young defender virtually came from nowhere to play a vital role in Town’s promotion success last season.

Having previously played only 11 senior games, just four of which were starts, Lintott made 38 appearances in all competitions and improved significantly as the 2022/23 campaign went on.

Released by Gillingham, the right-back was raw and unrefined when he joined Cobblers on trial but, by the end of last season, he was a regular starter.

A niggling hip injury disrupted his summer and continued into the new season but, after playing 90 minutes against Oxford in the EFL Trophy, he’s almost back fully fit.

"It's obviously a bit frustrating not to have a game, especially for me,” Lintott admitted after Saturday’s unscheduled break from action.

"I got my first 90 minutes of the season against Oxford and it would have been nice to build on that but there’s not much you can do about it and it is nice to enjoy a little break because you don’t get many.

"I feel I'm getting there. I've been building myself up slowly because it's not an overnight thing. Finding that fitness and match sharpness takes a few weeks to really build up but I'm definitely getting there.

"Any injury is frustrating, especially in my case because of the timing of it, right at the start of the season, and the area of the injury. You have to be careful and you can't rush ahead of yourself even if you might want to.

"But I feel good, training’s been strong this week, and I’m ready to kick-on.”

Cobblers enjoyed a rare weekend off after their scheduled League One fixture against Derby County was postponed due to international call-ups.

That allowed manager Jon Brady and his players the chance to rest up and get through some extra work on the training pitch.

Lintott added: "It's been really useful to have the time to get on the training ground and go through small details that we need to improve ahead of the game on Saturday.

"I think it's important to take stock and assess where we are. We've had a look at the things we've done well but also what we need to get better at and a weekend off can sometimes really help coaches and players analyse everything.

"There's little details that we can improve and that's what we've been focusing on this week.”

Port Vale, Town’s next opponents, have a negative goal difference and yet are fourth in the league after an excellent start to the season.

They were hammered 7-0 by Barnsley on the opening day but have won four of their next five games.

"Port Vale have been in great form so we'll treat them with the respect they deserve,” continued Lintott.

"But we also know we've been playing well ourselves and we can go there and get a positive result.

"We've been competitive in every game and that's credit to the boys and the staff and now we want to build on those performances because it's not been perfect.

"We will keep working hard and keep trying to improve and we go into every game without any fear.