McWilliams so happy to be back playing for the Cobblers after nine months out

Shaun McWilliams does not need anyone to tell him that this season is a big one if he is to establish himself at his hometown club.

The midfielder is still only 22 and has time on his side but potential can only take you so far; at some point, it needs to be converted into something more substantial.

There are a variety of reasons why McWilliams has struggled to properly establish himself after bursting onto the scene as a 17-year-old in April 2017, when the much-missed Justin Edinburgh handed him his debut in a 1-1 draw at Rochdale.

The main one, though, has been out of his control: injuries. Little niggles here and there have constantly disrupted his momentum, and on Boxing Day of last year, away at Crawley Town, came the darkest day of his career.

Carried off on a stretcher after suffering a horrific knee injury, it would be over nine months until the academy graduate featured again.

It was a long and arduous road for a player so young but McWilliams put in the hard yards behind the scenes and is now back fit. After playing 45 minutes in the EFL Trophy recently, he was a surprise starter against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.

“It feels so good to be back,” he said. “I’ve been training with the boys for a while now but it’s obviously not the same feeling as a game at all.

“I’ve now got two matches under my belt, 45 minutes in the first one and then an hour or so on Saturday. I’m always delighted to be on the pitch, especially for the Cobblers.

“One of the things you have to be wary of when you’re coming back from a long time out is a recurrence of the injury so you have to be careful, but touch wood, I feel fine, and I'm very grateful for the medical staff at the club for working hard with me and helping me get back fit.

“I was actually a bit surprised to get the call-up to be honest because I had only just played 45 minutes and I thought I might be eased in.

“But I was called upon to play at wing-back and I think I delivered. There might have been a few errors because I’m still a bit rusty after coming back from a long injury but I know I’ve got to get up to scratch and be on it as the boys need to pick up points.

“I’m just enjoying my football at the minute. Hopefully I can kick-on.”

That last bit is key. McWilliams no longer wants to be a fringe player or the type of squad option that Keith Curle can turn to when he needs a specific job doing, such as playing at wing-back against Plymouth.

He wants to establish himself as a regular in his favoured central midfield position, but to have any chance of doing that, he knows he has to stay fit.

“I’ve had a fair few injuries at my young age but, touch wood, hopefully I’m over that now,” he added.

“I’ve always been in and out of the team, sometimes due to injury, so I need to get that out of my game. I’m getting to an age where I need to be playing regular games and injuries are not helping.”

McWilliams did not feature against Swindon Town on Tuesday but he should be available for selection when Charlton visit at the weekend.

He continued: “I’m not sure what the clock was on when I came off (against Plymouth) but I felt a bit of cramp. I could feel it twinging when we came in at half-time. I was determined to stay on but I had to come off.

“As soon as I came off the gaffer asked if I was OK, I said ‘no, I’ve just been burnt by Frank Nouble!’ so I knew I was ready to come off. It’s only cramp so I should be fine.”