Words John Edwards | Picture Jonathan Moore

Eddy Jones is back in Altrincham colours after signing a contract at The J.Davidson Stadium that will run for the rest of this season.

Always a firm favourite with Robins fans for his consistently high-quality performances on the left of Alty's defence, the former Stoke City full-back suffered a significant setback last February when he sustained a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury that required surgery.

When his Alty contract ran out in June and he became a free agent, it was generally assumed his eventual return to fitness would culminate in a fresh start with a different club.

But Robins boss Neil Gibson revealed that Eddy's recovery programme has been largely supervised by Alty staff and that he opted for relaunching his career with us over approaches he received from rival clubs in the Enterprise National League.

Still only just turned 24, Eddy is available for tomorrow's National League fixture at Aldershot Town, and Neil is backing him to prove a valuable acquisition as the team bid to keep climbing the table.

"Eddy is well known to everyone associated with the club, and I am really pleased he has re-signed for us," said the Alty manager. "The medical department have done a great job in managing his rehab, and he has been training with us to get back to full fitness.

"There was interest in him from other clubs in the National League once he got fit again, but I felt it was a really good opportunity for us to offer him a deal until the end of the season, because the quality he has will complement the group of players we have here.

"It will add a lot of competition in certain positions and allow us to play in a completely different shape, one we are not currently able to operate in.

"He is a very technical footballer and has been really good in training since the day I came into the club. I am very much looking forward to working with him and helping him and the squad keep moving in the right direction."

After a temporary spell with Hartlepool United, and while still on Stoke's books, Eddy joined us initially in February 2022 on loan for the remainder of a campaign that finished with a mid-table position in the National League and 13 appearances to his name.

He returned for a second loan stint in September that year, and, after it was turned into a permanent move in January 2023, he went on to make 89 appearances as a fully-fledged Alty player, scoring five times.

Now, he is set to add to that tally, and, in welcoming him back, we would like to wish him every success as he prepares to pull on an Alty shirt once more.