FORGOTTEN winger Lee Holmes has told Saints boss Alan Pardew he’s ready to make his long-awaited senior comeback.

And he can’t wait to be part of a “match made in heaven,” with him supplying the crosses for £1m striker Rickie Lambert.

The 22-year-old Holmes hasn’t played a competitive first-team game since former manager Mark Wotte’s first match in charge at Norwich in January.

He missed the end of last season after aggravating a knee injury, first suffered at QPR last September, in that game at Carrow Road.

Holmes appeared to be on his way back after featuring in Saints’ opening warm-up friendly against Eastleigh.

But his preparations for the new season were then disrupted by ankle and groin injuries.

Holmes, though, says he has now overcome those “niggles.”

And, more importantly, he has built up his match-fitness by featuring in a reserve team practice game before playing the full 90 minutes of the second string’s opening league fixture of the season, a 6-1 defeat of Salisbury at Staplewood on Monday night.

Holmes – who only played 11 league games for Saints in his debut campaign in 2008/09 due to injury – said: “That 90 minutes (against Salisbury) is big for me personally.

“I am still not back to what is my peak but I am by no means far off which is nice.

“I would like to do as much as I can in training and see where it leaves me.

“I feel pretty good and in the coming weeks I would love to start pushing for a place.”

The left-winger said he would even be ready to make his first-team return against Charlton this weekend if called upon.

“Definitely,” he responded without hesitation when asked if he would be ready to play at The Valley if needed.

“I would play whenever the gaffer wanted me to. That’s the kind of player I am – whether I am 100 per cent fit or 50 per cent fit.

“But that’s the gaffer’s choice and if he thinks I need a few more games then I will take the games on and try and do as much as I can in them.”

If Pardew does feel the trip to Charlton is too soon for Holmes’ comeback he said he has no qualms about biding his time in the reserves while he waits for the manager’s call.

“With every game I play now I am getting a little sharper,” he said.

“So the more games that come around the better for me.”

News that Holmes is ready to return will be a much-needed boost to Pardew who, after the recent draw against Brentford expressed his disappointment about Saints’ end product from the wide areas.

And Holmes feels that Saints’ current set-up, a traditional 4-4-2 featuring a main striker who thrives on crosses in Lambert, will be perfectly suited to him when he does eventually return.

“With Rickie in the side for me it’s a match made in heaven,” he said.

“I like crossing it and he likes heading it in.

“Hopefully I can start knocking on a few places in the first team and sooner rather than later.”