ROB Hall says a long injury lay-off has meant he has taken time to savour Oxford United’s back-to-back victories in the past week.

The winger made his first start in Sky Bet League One last weekend against Coventry City and managed more than an hour again against Gillingham in midweek.

They were major hurdles to overcome for a player who had spent seven months out with a cruciate knee ligament injury.

Hall will be hoping to complete a hat-trick of starts tomorrow when the U’s visit leaders Scunthorpe United.

But the time away from football has ensured he is taking nothing for granted.

He said: “It’s made me realise any game could be your last for a while, so you have to put everything into it.

“You can never play on a Saturday and think ‘I’ve got to save some energy for Tuesday’ – it doesn’t work like that.

“You just have to work your socks off and take each day as it comes.”

He added: “In a funny way it’s made me love the game more, because I missed it so much.

“Even the days when I could run but not train, it hit me a bit more because it felt I was so close.

“Since I started training it has all fallen into place. I’m happy again.”

The 23-year-old admits he still needs reassurance from United’s medical staff that the aches and pains in his recovered knee are to be expected.

Hall is certain there is a lot of room for improvement, but did not expect to make such a positive impact so quickly.

He said: “I am surprised, I thought it would take me a bit longer to get to the type of game I want to play.

“I feel like I’ve been at this fitness level for about three or four weeks now. I just need to clear that last barrier to go on longer.

“I’ve come into a good team and every one of them has helped me more than I’ve helped them.

“I just want to contribute to what they’ve done.

“I want to thank the manager massively for putting his faith in me to start me in these two games and for believing I will be just as good as I was before the injury.

“To play twice in four days has given me confidence – it’s hard to do even when you are fit.

“Thankfully I’ve done it and hopefully I can keep pushing on.”