Fox clears up his injury confusion after making sensational impact off the bench for Cobblers at Swindon

Ben Fox’s sensational, match-winning impact as a second-half substitute at Swindon Town on Saturday was not bad for a player who had been ruled out until 2023 with a serious knee injury.

The 24-year-old suffered an apparently long-term knee issue during August’s EFL Trophy defeat to Ipswich Town. Initially said to be out for around five to six months, Fox shocked everyone when he was named on the bench for last month’s league fixture with Rochdale.

"I just went and got a second opinion on the injury and it wasn't as bad as we feared,” explained Fox. "I feel great now and I feel fit and hopefully my performances on the pitch will show that. It's nice to be available and back playing again and hopefully I can now play more.”

The midfielder arrived off the bench to create two goals against Rochdale but his best afternoon in a Cobblers shirt to date came at Swindon on Saturday. He headed Mitch Pinnock’s corner, his first goal for the club, to equalise 13 minutes after coming on before doing brilliantly to return the favour and create the winner two minutes from full-time.

He said: "As substitute appearances go, that's what you want to do. I just wanted to come on and make a difference for the team but I thought all the boys were fantastic and it's nice to get on the pitch and make an impact.

"You always know the Postman's delivery will be on the money and then it was nice to repay him at the end – I didn't even realise he had scored because I was still on the ground!

"We are getting ourselves into those situations and with the confidence we have in the team, when we do get into dangerous areas, the delivery is always good and it's just about one of us getting on the end of it and thankfully this time it was me.

"I had another chance before Mitch's winner and to be honest I probably should have scored. It was almost too good a cross but I should have scored.”

Victory at in-form Swindon, who were previously unbeaten at home, was an impressive achievement in itself. To do it without seven players, including your top goalscorer, and having to come from a goal down, made it arguably Town’s finest win of the season so far.

"We know how valuable all those players are to the team and to the squad,” Fox added. “Hosk has obviously been on fire this season and he's pulled us through at times.

"But we know any 11 that's out on the pitch can go and go a great job regardless of who it is and I think that's a really good quality to have within the squad.”

Cobblers now have top spot within their sights, something they could achieve by beating Walsall on Tuesday.

"It would be nice to go top,” admitted Fox. “It's a long season and we have to be aware of that but you'd rather be at the top than the bottom so we will do our best to get there and stay there.”