Paul Hayes thanked fans and the Wycombe Wanderers Trust after making a long awaited return from injury on Tuesday night.

The club captain got his first taste of League Two action for more than a month in the 2-0 defeat against Newport County after suffering an Achilles injury on September 5.

Through the club’s share scheme Hayes has been able to receive specialist treatment and the 32-year-old was keen to praise the excellent work done by fans.

Hayes said: “My treatment was fantastically funded by the trust and if it hadn’t been for the investment made in medical equipment I would have been out for a longer time.

“I’m ever so grateful for the investment made by the trust. I have had a long layoff and needed a lot of treatment which they have helped to fund.

“The trust have helped me and a few of the lads with our treatment which is great. To get back out there playing felt good because it has been very frustrating watching on from the side-lines.”

The share scheme’s investment has led to the purchase of a state of the art shockwave therapy unit that will enable the treatment that Hayes was receiving to be administered in house.

The therapy unit is designed to break down scar tissue and calcium build-up and can dramatically aid in the recovery from chronic injuries while also helping to reduce further soft tissue damage.

The share scheme now aims to raise £2m over five years and the new equipment will go some way towards helping reduce the cost of treating players in the future.

Hayes also attested to the ongoing importance the new medical unit can play in maintaining his and other player’s fitness as the season progresses.

However, after completing over 30 minutes of football in his return the striker admitted it was a bitter sweet feeling as the Blues slipped to another damaging defeat.

“It’s obviously two sides of the coin today for me. One where from a personal point of view I have come back from a longish injury which has been niggling me since last season,” he explained.

“But on a football side losing four games in a row is not good enough and tonight has been nothing short of a shambles.

“I felt good out there, unfortunately I took a kick to my ankle which obviously made it flair up but I played through the pain. On a positive note though I feel okay now and normally after games I struggle to walk.”

Hayes’ importance to Wycombe should not be underestimated. He was the club’s main goal threat with 15 goals last season, 12 of which came in the league, and missed just eight of their league fixtures in 2014/15.

It’s the sort of goal return that Wycombe have been crying out for this season. Of the 11 players who have found the net only three have scored more than once with defenders Michael Harriman and Aaron Pierre being on that list.

Among the strikers, Garry Thompson is the sole scorer of multiple goals with three while Gozie Ugwu is yet to register in seven appearances since arriving at the club last month.

The injury will now need to be monitored as Hayes continues on the road to full fitness and Wycombe manager, Gareth Ainsworth, will have to judge whether or not to risk him when Carlisle arrive at Adams Park tomorrow.

Either way Ainsworth is delighted to have his captain back in contention, and believes that given time to reach match sharpness he can offer a quality to the Blues attack that has been missing in recent weeks.

He said: “It is a huge positive to have him on the bench and to be able to stick him on. He is not 100% fit but he injected a little bit of quality when he came on.

“We will work now on getting his fitness back and a fit Paul Hayes is a great player in this division but we also need players off him who are going to be firing on all cylinders.”

With a small squad Ainsworth is often hamstrung in attempting to maintain the high standards that he has set during his tenure at Adams Park.

He was visibly pleased to be able to welcome Hayes back after claiming after the defeat at Stevenage last weekend that big injuries ‘will always kill this club’.

Ainsworth made his gratitude towards the club’s fans for the money they have invested to help speed up Hayes’ recovery clear.

Ainsworth said: “The fans have played a big part in Paul’s treatment and the trust have helped and we’ve tried to work together to get him back on the pitch.”

The quicker Ainsworth can facilitate that process of getting Hayes back to fitness the quicker you sense he will be able to restore the club’s ailing fortunes.