Accrington Stanley defender Jerome Opoku says that he is happy to be back with the squad ahead of the trip to face Tranmere Rovers after missing the two previous games through injury.
Opoku, who missed the games against Rotherham United and Bolton Wanderers with a grade two tear of the quad, has returned quicker than expected and he puts that down to working hard in the gym during his recovery.
"I was supposed to be out for between four and six weeks, so I'm happy that it was between two and three.
"I've been working hard in the gym and I'm happy to be back with the lads.
"It was quite hard getting my head around it, as I knew that I was going to be missing a few games.
"I also knew that the harder I worked then the quicker I would be back, and the lads did the job against Bolton with quite a good result."
The defender returned to parent club Fulham for treatment and he admits that although he has missed being with the rest of the Stanley squad, he hasn't particularly missed the cold weather.
"I had to go back down to Fulham for treatment and then return here when I was fit.
"There are more facilities for me to use down there which meant that I could return from injury quicker.
"I've missed these lads, obviously the weather is quite colder here so I haven't missed that and I'm having to wear my hat, snood and gloves all the time."
Since joining the club on transfer deadline day, Opoku feels as though his loan spell couldn't be going any better and that everyone at the club has welcomed him with open arms.
"It's going as best as it could be, I'm playing matches and getting a lot of games.
"It's a small family club and everyone has welcomed me, it's quite easy to talk to everyone which has helped me a lot."
The Fulham loanee signed originally as a centre-back, but the 21-year-old admits that he is enjoying playing as a left-back for the Reds.
"Growing up I've played as a left-back a lot, but then I grew and turned into a centre-back.
"I've got the attributes of a left-back, as I like to get forward and it's fun going forward, but I enjoy defending as well."
Opoku has already picked up seven yellow cards during his loan spell, with the defender admitting that manager John Coleman has spoken to him about his disciplinary record.
"The manager has told me about that and I've tried to calm down.
"I'm trying to watch that now and I've got to be more careful."
Next up for Stanley is an away trip to face Tranmere Rovers and Opoku knows how important it is that the club returns from Prenton Park with all three points.
"We've had a full week of training and we're going there feeling positive.
"It's definitely important that we go and get the three points."