Raith Rovers’ promotion push has been boosted by the return of forward Lewis Vaughan after nine months on the sidelines.
The highly rated 20-year-old bagged two goals in two appearances at the start of the season before cruciate knee ligament injury during a League Cup encounter against Albion Rovers in August.
After a successful operation to repair the damage, and gruelling rehabilitation, he returned to full training at the end of last month.
And Vaughan’s injury hell finally came to an end on Tuesday night when he played 60 minutes for Rovers’ reserve side, helping the second string to a 2-1 win over their Berwick Rangers counter-parts.
Raith boss Ray McKinnon is likely to order the youngster, having suffered such extensive damage, to get at least one more bounce game under his belt before he in considered for a first-team place.
However, he is expected to be in contention for the final two regular Championship fixtures and could emerge as a key man for the club during the promotion play-offs.
As well as starting this season with a couple of goals, Vaughan scored seven goals in 26 games last term, including an 84th-minute winner against Hibernian.
Vaughan said: “It’s about not rushing back and making sure I do everything properly.
“But if the gaffer calls on me I’ll be ready.”