Craig Gilroy hopes he gets a chance to remind Ulster fans what they’ve been missing before the end of an injury-hit season.
The unfortunate winger hasn’t played for five months because of a persistent back injury and has been a frustrated onlooker at a pivotal stage of the campaign.
The 28-year-old was at The Aviva on Saturday to watch Dan McFarland’s men earn rave reviews in a thrilling 21-18 Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final defeat to Leinster.
And with the team on an upward trajectory, Gilroy - a fans favourite with his rapid feet and trademark spins - is keen to get back in the mix as soon as possible.
“When you see the guys doing well, you want to be involved,” he said.
“It inspires me to push on and get back into the team and shine for them.
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“My last game was Racing away (in October) so it has been frustrating, but moping about isn’t going to make it any better.”
On a potential return to action for the Guinness Pro14 climax, Gilroy said: “I’d like to, but at the same time I’ll probably not push it because things are going really well now.
“It’s actually the same thing I did last year - only on the left side - but it has just taken a bit longer to heal this time.
“I’ve been on the AlterG (anti-gravity treadmill) and maxed it out on the speed the other day which was a big lift for me, so I’m hoping I can push on from that.
“There was a period when I couldn’t put my socks on, but I’m through the worst and I’m back running and progressing.”
On Ulster ’s vibrant display against reigning European champions Leinster at the weekend, Gilroy said: “I think we bettered them for probably the majority of the game.
“Everyone could see we were on that level with them. We’ve gone down there in the past and got our asses handed to us pretty much, so that gives us a lot of confidence.”
And while Leinster were without star out-half Johnny Sexton for the last eight tie, the likes of Gilroy and recently capped Ireland centre Will Addison were missing for Ulster.
“People said ‘oh they were missing so and so’, but that was still an unbelievable Leinster side and we also had a few injury issues,” said Gilroy.
“It was a fantastic match and I was really proud of the guys. It was there for us and we narrowly missed out, but now we can concentrate on the league.”
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Ulster, who lie second in Conference B of the Pro14 with three games remaining, resume their league campaign against Glasgow at Scotstoun on Friday night.
The top three teams in each of the two conferences qualify for the knockout stages, with second spot securing a home quarter-final.
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