Cooper happy to return on familiar ground

'KEEPER'S COMEBACK IS AT THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL STARTED

- CHRIS FRRINGTON

AT the same place where he made his debut for Plymouth Argyle in 2017, goalkeeper Michael Cooper made his comeback after a knee injury as he played his 152nd game for the club in the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Saturday.

The 24-year-old had been on the bench as back-up for Northern Ireland international Conor Hazard for the previous three games but Ian Foster opted to start with him instead against Blackburn. Cooper had a very challenging 2023 as he suffered two knee injuries during the year, with the second one coming in December when he damaged his medial ligaments during a training session.

That followed a run of nine successive starts since the Pilgrims' academy product had returned to action from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Now he will be hoping from a strong finish to the campaign, both for himself and Argyle as a team.

Cooper said: "It was nice to be back after three months on the sideline with another knee injury. To get back playing after all the hard work I have done felt really good again."

His Argyle debut came as an 18-yearold when he was a half-time substitute for an injured Kyle Letheren in a 1-1 League One draw with Blackburn at Ewood Park in October 2017 so his return there at the weekend brought back happy memories.

Cooper said: "I was actually really excited to come back. It's the first time since. Remembering the experiences I had that night was pretty cool, and for it to be my first game back in since getting injured as well there was a lot to take from it."