Armstrong continued his remarkable recovery from an abdominal injury by scoring twice against Bishop Auckland after coming on as sub on Tuesday night, and believes that he could play some part at Buxton.

“I’m steadily building up my match fitness. I had 20 minutes against Whitby, and 30 against Bishop Auckland,” he said. “ Maybe I’ll get 45 minutes in at Spennymoor on Friday night.

“I’m working hard, I’m also having two personal training sessions a day. I believe that I’ll be in contention to play at Buxton next week. I know I’m not fully fit yet, I haven’t played a full 90 minutes in pre-season, but I feel that I can play.

“Physically, I feel great, but there is still a mental battle for me. I haven’t had a knock on it yet, and there’s still a little bit of discomfort. At one point during the summer though, I didn’t think I’d get to the first game of the season. I lost two stone in weight and couldn’t walk 50 yards.”

He thought that the 8-0 win at Bishop Auckland on Tuesday night was a “very convincing performance,” and he said; “I thought our two centre midfielders dominated the game.

“It was nice to come on as sub in a game like that. I had opportunities to score a couple of goals and chances to get on the ball.”

He also paid tribute to the support that he’s had since his injury. “The fans, the management and my teammates have been unbelievable, it’s that type of support that gets you through it. It was also great to get an ovation from both sets of fans at Whitby last Saturday.”