Holmes reveals he was on the verge of retirement before returning to Cobblers

Ricky Holmes has revealed he was on the verge of retiring from football altogether before Northampton offered him one last chance to get over his fitness problems.

The 33-year-old has returned to the Cobblers by joining on an appearance-based contract this week, but he feared he had already played his last competitive game.

Holmes has struggled with a long-term back injury throughout his career and returning to Northampton in the summer for rehab with fitness coach Pablo Garcia was the last throw of the dice.

"I really want to say thank you to the manager, the management staff and a special mention to Pablo," said Holmes. "Everyone thought I may have to retire but he's put the hours in with me when the boys have been training.

"I've been coming in during the evenings and putting the graft in which has now paid off. It's an injury I've carried my whole career - a slipped disc in my back. I've had a few operations but I just couldn't get fit.

"Pablo knows my body inside out from before and I said 'let's just give it eight weeks, if I can't get fit, then I'll have to retire'. You're retired a long time in this game so I didn't want to get to the age of 36 or 37 and regret the decision of not giving it one more go and thankfully it's paid off."

After fearing the worst just a couple of months ago, Holmes will now cherish every moment he is on the pitch - which could be as soon as Tuesday's League One fixture against MK Dons.

"I think you've got to cherish any professional game or contract you receive, but it probably does mean more," he added. "I've been staring at a ceiling for two years doing rehab and thinking 'I'm going nowhere here'.

"Players say it all the time but when you are injured, you're isolated and you're on your own. You're in at different times to the rest of the squad so it can be a very lonely place.

"It's been a roller-coaster of emotions for me but I never let me get too down and never let it get the better of me and thankfully I've managed to get fit. I'm so happy to be back and I'm now raring to go!"