Torquay United new signing Aaron Jarvis' relief that's he's back on pitch

That six-goal hammering at Wrexham was hardly the way that Aaron Jarvis hoped to mark his first start for Torquay United, but the Gulls' centre-forward is just relieved that he's back on the pitch.

Former Luton Town and Scunthorpe United targetman Jarvis, 24, was one of manager Gary Johnson's key summer signings, but he was sidelined from mid-July until he was finally able to make his debut off the subs' bench at Southend earlier this month.

'Dead legs', or 'impact' blows, have always sounded like injuries that a footballer might be able to run off, or at least get over in a week or two. That's what Jarvis hoped to do.

He was kicked on the thigh in a pre-season friendly against Newport County on July 16, but played, after treatment for the bruising, against Plymouth Argyle at Plainmoor three days later.

"I got a kick on exactly the same spot in the Plymouth game, and it was as if my thigh had exploded. The pain was excruciating," said the Basingstoke-born forward.

What might have been a reasonably routine injury had suddenly become a worrying one.

"My whole thigh swelled up, and it wasn't as if you could just break down the bruising.

"I was struggling to even walk, and it looked as if I might have to have surgery at one point," he said.

A programme of rest and treatment under United's new physio Regan Miles eventually did the trick, and Jarvis reports: "Although I missed most of pre-season, I've been training for more than three weeks now, and I'm just happy to be back.

"When you join a new club, you want to be out there, showing the players, the manager and the fans what you can do and what you're about.

"I'd say I'm nearly at 100 per cent but I just need games now."

Jarvis was one of United's bright sparks at Wrexham, hitting the bar with a first-half header, and he's likely to be crucial to the club's efforts to pull away from the bottom of the table.

The Gulls face Jarvis' old club, relegated Scunthorpe United, at Plainmoor on Saturday (3pm), followed by Maidenhead United, also at home, next Tuesday night (7.45pm).