Lapslie is delighted to be back in action

And having made his long-awaited comeback in Tuesday’s Checkatrade Trophy victory against Charlton Athletic, the 21-year-old hopes to have cemented his place in the team for Saturday’s League Two date with Leyton Orient.

Lapslie had been on the sidelines since suffering an ankle injury in the U’s 3-2 victory against Blackpool, on September 10.

He featured for an hour of the U’s recent under-23s match against Coventry City.

But it was in Tuesday’s victory against the Addicks - Colchester won 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw - that he really signalled his return for John McGreal’s side.

“I’m buzzing to be playing again,” said Lapslie.

“I loved every minute of it and people could tell from my reaction when I got substituted that I didn’t want to come off!

“Being out for so long was hard and frustrating.

“At the start we weren’t entirely sure what the problem was and we thought I might only be out for a week or two.

“We had to play it by ear but it turned out to be worse than we originally thought. It was unfortunate for the team that some of the other boys were in there (the treatment room) with me, but we got through it together, did bits of fitness work and helped each other along.

“It’s all paid off now and it was a nice gesture to be given the captain’s armband by John (McGreal).”

Tuesday’s win ended a run of ten matches without victory.

During that time the U’s have slid to 18th in League Two.

However, Lapslie hopes the midweek success will provide a springboard for more success.

“It was important to end the win-less run and we also knew there were places up for grabs in the team for Saturday,” he said.

“We all wanted to perform to the best of our ability and hope to force our way into the side.

“We played some nice football and were quite solid, apart from conceding a poor goal.

“We bounced back well, scored a very good equaliser and were definitely the better team in the second half.

“We thoroughly deserved to win.”