Guiseley boss Mark Bower has backed Oli Johnson to conjure more magic in the coming weeks after his long-awaited comeback from injury.

The forward made his first appearance of the campaign during Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at home to Tranmere Rovers after a torturous injury battle.

The 28-year-old came off the bench and almost capped his return with a winning goal as his shot curled wide of the far post.

Bower said: “It would have been fantastic for Oli if that had gone in after the nightmare period he has had.

“I really feel for him because he’s come in and done his work but not been able to get on the pitch.

“Hopefully the operation he has had and the rehab he has done will stand him in good stead now, so we can gradually build him up and let the supporters see the player that he is.

“We know that he is a matchwinner on his day and he’s been very sorely missed.

“A lot of these games we have drawn, a bit of magic from Oli Johnson could have turned those into wins, so he’s been a big miss.

“We’ll look after him properly and we can’t expect too much too soon, but it’s great to have him back in the side and I think it gave everyone a lift when he came on.

“Not just the lads on the pitch, but the supporters in the ground as well. We will look after him and hopefully get a bit more out of him from the rest of the season.”

James Hurst’s first goals for the club in the Vanarama National League earned the Lions an impressive point against high-flying Rovers.

Bower added: “To get a point is pleasing, especially after they battered us for the first 25 minutes when we were fortunate to be level.

“But for the last hour of the game I thought we more than matched them and, with a bit more luck in the penalty area, we might even have nicked a win.

“Tranmere showed what a good side they are in that opening half hour but once the lads got to grip them and started believing in themselves, I thought they did really well.

“They deserve a lot of credit for their performance because when we were under the cosh, like we were in that first half hour, we could have found ourselves two or three goals down.

“The biggest problem we’ve had this season is that we’ve not scored enough goals and, when we do go behind, it can be a knock to your confidence.

“I’m pleased with the performance and if we can produce that kind of display on a more consistent basis then some of those draws will turn into wins.

“It was a great composed finish for James’ first – he just used the pace on the ball to produce a good sidefoot with his weaker foot to finish it well.

“As he lined up that second one I just really fancied him and thought ‘this is going to end up in the back of the net’.

“He struck it well and I said before the game he was due a goal.

“He was a real bright spark for us and was certainly a threat to them. It was an all-round good team display.”

Guiseley head to Bromley on Saturday aiming to climb further away from relegation danger and Bower said: “It’s a tricky one because Bromley have been a little bit up and down.

“They had a great start to the season, hit a sticky path a couple of months ago, but since then I think they have won four of the last five games and drawn the other one.

“They won on Tuesday night and it will be a really tough place to go, but on the whole we have been doing pretty well.

“If we can maintain the level of performance we showed against Tranmere, then we’ve got a great chance of going there and getting a result.”