RETURNING left-back Chris Hussey will be a ‘big player’ in Swindon Town’s bid to earn promotion from League Two, according to manager Phil Brown.

Hussey featured for 75 minutes on Saturday as Swindon defeated Cambridge United 3-1 at the Abbey Stadium.

The 29-year-old loanee from Sheffield United was making his first appearance since September after suffering from a groin injury.

It didn’t take long for Hussey to make an impact as his storming run down the left helped create time and space for Luke Norris to head Town into an early lead.

And it’s Hussey’s injection of pace, size and experience that Brown wants to utilise more on the field in the closing nine games.

He said: “Chris was treading water on 75 minutes, if truth be known. I think that’s why they (Cambridge) made the substitution they did.

“He put a couple of crosses in and I thought it was the right time to get him off before he does anymore damage to himself.

“The alarm bells were ringing when they scored.

“But Chris produced a cross for the opening goal because he’s got that quality.

“When that quality is not there, it’s because of fatigue. And when fatigue is there, I have to pull him out.

“He’s trained well this week and he’s going to be a big player for us, no doubt about it.

“Any player that plays left foot defence with a bit of pace, decent size and used to playing at a high level will be a massive asset for us.”

Hussey’s return is just one of a handful of players on the comeback from respective injuries, although goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook will once again not be available for tomorrow’s trip to Exeter City as he continues to recover from a wrist injury.

Amine Linganzi looks likely to return, while Donal McDermott has also joined in training sessions in the week with an aim of returning to the first team over the busy Easter period.

Meanwhile striker Luke Norris is ‘60/40’ to play on Saturday, according to Brown.

He said: “Luke is part of the threat of our strikers – that’s something we’ll need for Saturday.

“I’ll give Luke every opportunity to play. He’ll travel with the team and by the start of the game he’ll hopefully be feeling good enough.”

Brown watched Yeovil Town grind out a 0-0 result against Exeter during his first full day in charge at the Energy Check County Ground.

While he acknowledged his side will need a similar mentality to what Yeovil displayed a week ago, he also wants to see the same mindset and quality to what he witnessed at Cambridge last week.

He said: “I’m seeing that quality in training, the pictures I’m getting when we have the ball are exciting.

“We’ve got our own agenda. Exeter is a homely club. But we’ve got our own agenda.

“We’re not there to gift anyone anything.”