Cheltenham Town skipper John Finnigan is hoping that his latest comeback will be a permanent one.

Finnigan made a surprise 17-minute appearance in Tuesday night's 0-0 FA Cup third-round draw with Doncaster at Whaddon Road, and is in line for a starting role at Colchester tomorrow.

He spent the best part of a year on the sidelines before returning from a persistent heel injury before Christmas, only to suffer further problems over the festive programme.

"I have been training this week and it's so far so good, and I should be in the squad for Colchester," he said.

"I hope that this comeback is for good, although I don't think I will ever be pain free from the injury.

"There will always be some discomfort but I will have to live with it and play through it, which will be okay if it stays at the level it is now."

Finnigan has been a much-missed member of the squad during his injury lay-off and realises he may have to manage himself and be careful about training sessions and matches.

"I twisted my ankle against Crewe, then in the game at Yeovil on Boxing Day I felt my heel.

"I would have been a passenger in the second half so I came off.

"I have to manage it. If it means missing the odd training session in order to be okay for games then so be it.

"I want to play every game and stay injury-free, but we have got a lot of games coming up – two a week for at least the next month."

The 32-year-old admitted that his cameo role on Tuesday was a bonus, as he was included to make up the numbers with manager Martin Allen only having 14 fit professionals to call on. "I was pleased with it as I thought my being on the bench was just going to be a token gesture," Finnigan said.

"To get 20 minutes was good, then I didn't play in the reserves on Wednesday, with Saturday in mind.

"Not many pros played in that game as the manager wanted everyone kept fresh for Colchester with so many injuries and suspensions flying around.

"Colchester have come good since we beat them 4-3 down here, which was a great game.

"They have climbed into the top half and are pushing for the play-off places now, but we are confident.

"It would be good to get a result ahead of the Cup replay as we are confident we can go to Doncaster and match them again.

"If we could play Villa, it would give the club a great lift and would be good for the boys in the squad like Andy Gallinagh, a big Villa fan, and Alan Wright, an ex-Villa player."

With uncertainty over the future of Robins assistant manager Bob Bloomer, Finnigan has been handed the chance to boost his coaching knowledge.

Allen asked him to look after the group of players who could not play in Tuesday's Cup game in training this week.

"Coaching interests me and doing these sessions for that group of lads has helped me a lot," he said.

"When I was younger it seemed miles away but now, at nearly 33, it is creeping up on me and I have my final assessment for my UEFA B badge to do by the end of May."

Cheltenham (from): Brown, Lindegaard, Gallinagh, Westwood, Ridley, Wright, Westlake, Russell, Bird, Finnigan, Montrose, Hayes, Hammond, Owusu, Vincent, Bignall, Connor, Low, Puddy.