THE return of D-man Matt Selby could provide the boost needed for Aaron Nell’s Swindon Wildcats as they look to stem a four-game losing streak.

The Cats head to Peterborough Phantoms this evening short-benched with Nell and Callum Buglass both missing with dislocated shoulders.

However, Nell struck a deal with Coventry Blaze on Thursday night to bring back Selby on a two-way deal from the Elite League side and expects him to have an immediate impact.

“He is really going to help us and we are looking forward to having him come back to Swindon,” said Nell.

“I don’t think he has had as much ice time as he would have hoped for at Coventry so this will be a good opportunity for him to get some more.

“He is still a Coventry Blaze player and is still very much part of their plans so he will be practising with them and playing with us at the weekend.

“He will come back today and will be a bit quicker than he was last year through training with Coventry for so long.

“I’ve not had an injury crisis like this since I have been coach. It has happened before and it tends to happen once every few years to teams and Selbs coming in is going to help and we all have to work a little bit harder to get through it.”

Despite their winless run in the English Premier League, Nell has been heartened by some of the best performances of the season.

The player-coach will be seeing a doctor next week to determine the extent of his lay-off but says there is no better rink for his side to turn their fortunes around at.

“I’m going to be out for a while but I can concentrate now on coaching the team and we’ll pull through it,” he added.

“It does help with just having the one game and we are short and a bit down right now and if there was one rink we would like to play in this weekend, other than the Link Centre, it would be Peterborough.

“It is a rink where, if you work hard and do little things right, it can be a real leveller.

“We know we have got to go in there and play well defensively and when we get our chances, we’ve got to go to the net hard and make sure we take them.”

Having delved into the market to bring back Selby, it looks unlikely there will be a return for Ben Davies, who has been released by Norfolk Admirals.

“We’ve had a conversation and Ben knows we would like him and I have made him an offer but I am pretty sure he will end up in the Elite League,” Nell explained.

“He has told me that and all the power to him. If he has the chance to be in that league, he should go there.

“But we left it on good terms and Ben will always be welcome back at our club.”