Forgotten man Pritch ready to prove his worth

Rowe’s absence against Derby and Swansea, Cowley had to tweak his side, putting Lewis O’Brien into a role pushing up alongside the centre-forward to try and win the ball when Town were out of possession before dropping back into a flatter midfield three when the Terriers had the ball.

The result was a draw in a game Town should have won and one of the most disappointing defeats of the seaso. Both games left the impression had Smith Rowe started and the side had been able to play with more impetus, things might have been different.

For all the gnashing of teeth over the decision to leave Smith Rowe out for those games, however, there was one question nobody had asked, how different might things have been if Pritchard had been available to slot straight into that No.10 role?

With another three-game week coming up, we may soon get a clearer idea of the answer.

There seems to be a policy of limiting Smith Rowe to just two starts in any three-game week, much as Cowley would prefer to have him available every game.

Enter Town’s forgotten man. It has been a long and hard path back for Pritchard, and when discussing the midfielder’s recovery in recent weeks the Town boss has been sure to point out the psychological difficulties of coming back from injury just as much as the physical aspect.

With knees especially you can understand why the sudden onset of pain would leave you feeling rather tentative about playing, regardless of whether the initial scans might suggest that you aren’t going to do yourself further harm.

It must be genuinely frightening to go out onto the pitch knowing that your own body doesn’t just not feel right, but actually hurts.

That seems to be the situation Pritchard found himself in. He has had the knee cyst for years, but it was only in late August it suddenly started gnawing away at him.

Having already had an MRI scan, he underwent an additional CT scan in late January that Cowley says gave him ‘peace of mind’ that he could after all, ‘grit his teeth and try to play through the pain.’

But having played just two-anda-bit games since August, that effectively left Pritchard needing something like a pre-season training regimen to get himself up to physical fitness - and to reassure himself he was not going to do any lasting damage by doing so.

Those baby steps have started to turn into a full-blown comeback.

After going as an unused substitute against Swansea and Bristol City, Pritchard came off the bench for the final 20 minutes or so against both Charlton and Leeds.

Cowley gave short shrift to the suggestion Pritchard had struggled to get going in those games, saying after the Leeds game: “Well he’s been injured for a long part of the

Pritch is an experienced number 10

with real know-how