Months of frustration will finally come to an end when Shrewsbury’s Rob Lewis, the county’s only Football League referee, takes charge of his first professional game of the season on Saturday.
Lewis will be the man in the middle for the League One clash between Swindon Town and Hartlepool United at the County Ground, a date that cannot come quickly enough.
Lewis has been sidelined all season owing to a nagging Achilles injury which first started to trouble him in the closing weeks of the last campaign.
But he has successfully come through a rehabilitation programme at Lilleshall and now he’s excited to be reaching for his whistle once again.
“It’s just nice to be back and I’m looking forward to Saturday,” said Lewis, of Meole Village. “I initially thought I would be back in October, then it crept into November and now it’s nearly Christmas.
“But I did my fitness test at Warwick University last week and buzzed through it.”
Lewis admits that after a hectic four years in which refereeing and linesman appointments have seen him travel far and wide, he has enjoyed the break and the chance to spend more time with his family in Shrewsbury.
But now he’s raring to go again and he had his appetite whetted for the weeks ahead by being the fourth official for last Saturday’s top of the table Championship clash between West Bromwich Albion and Charlton Athletic at The Hawthorns.
Lewis has stepped up his quest for full fitness in recent weeks by returning to his refereeing roots to take charge of a couple of Shrewsbury Sunday League games while he also controlled two County League matches at Ludlow Town Reserves.
But now he’s itching to make up for lost time in the Football League having refereed 29 League games last season including several in the Championship.