CONCORD Rangers’ 1-1 draw at promotion-chasing Whitehawk may not have surprised many people...although the inclusion of striker Lewis Taaffe certainly would have done.

Only two weeks ago, the Beach Boys manager Danny Cowley all but confirmed the 23-year-old would be ruled out for the majority, if not all, of this campaign with an ankle injury.

But the 11-goal forward started on Tuesday night, providing the assist for Steve Cawley as Concord secured another important point at a side gunning for promotion this term.

And Taaffe said he was pleased to get back on the pitch, having expected to be out for much longer, although he admitted it was a bizarre episode in his season.

“It was two weeks ago at training and I turned my ankle on the Astroturf at Waterside Farm,” he said. “It was a bit of a freak injury but I knew it was bad straight away and I was limping around everywhere.

“I got up the next day and couldn’t walk at all so I knew I would be out of the weekend’s game (against Sutton United).

“I got up on the morning of the Boreham Wood game and was hobbling down the stairs half-asleep when I fell and banged my ankle into the wall! I was in excruciating pain for about five minutes and then, all of a sudden, it felt fine.

“I was travelling to Boreham Wood to cheer on the team and spent a bit of time kicking the ball in the warm-up and I thought ‘I’m alright to play here’.”

Taaffe wasn’t included in the squad for the 0-0 draw at Boreham Wood, but started the 1-1 draw with Whitehawk only three days later.

And he said it was great to return to the squad and help the team move onto 42 points for the current campaign.

“I was pleased to be involved and help Steve get another goal,” he said. “My legs were seizing up after 70 minutes and it was a bit of a shock to the system but we got a really good result.

“Steve and I link up well together and there is some decent competition between the strikers. We all want to score more goals than each other but I am happy to provide assists for the team as well.”