St Neots Town hot-shot Drew Roberts hopes to kick-start his season tonight.

Roberts is expected to play a part in Saints’ derby clash against Cambridge City in the second round of the Red Insure Cup at the Premier Plus Stadium (7.45pm).

The prolific striker was an unused substitute when St Neots beat Dunstable in a Southern League Premier Division clash last Tuesday after being sidelined since the summer following a knee operation.

But Roberts - top-scorer in the Premier Division for the past four seasons - hopes to make his first appearance of the campaign tonight.

He said: “It has been ridiculously frustrating having to watch on for the first few months of the season.

“I initially expected to be out for between four to six weeks, but the surgeon had to remove more cartilage than he had initially intended which meant a much longer recovery.

“I had a similar problem with my other knee six-or-seven years ago, but other than that I rarely seem to pick up injuries and touch wood that will continue to be the case.

“I’m just hoping to get some minutes against Cambridge City and hopefully there won’t be a reaction.

“I just want to be back and scoring goals for the team. Hopefully the first one comes quickly and more will follow.”

One man who won’t feature for St Neots is Nathan Frater. The forward was released from his contract yesterday for availability reasons.