Jack Simmons is confident he will play a big part in Dartford’s promotion push when he returns from a loan spell at Canvey Island.

The 21-year-old winger has rejoined his former club until January 9 having not featured much for the Darts lately.

Summer signing Simmons admitted he rushed back too quickly from the ankle injury he sustained in the derby defeat to Ebbsfleet on August 31.

And with that in mind, he can see the benefit of playing games in the Ryman League with an eye on a serious National League South comeback in 2016.

Simmons said: "I still believe I’ve got a big part to play. I’m very much a Dartford player and looking forward to getting back in and being ready for a big second half of the season.

"I need to get a good run of games at Canvey over Christmas and come back in the New Year.

"We’ve got a lot of games coming up so I need to be refreshed and ready to get back in."

Simmons, previously a youth player at Colchester, joined Dartford in June after being named Canvey supporters’ player-of-the-year for 2014-15.

He said: "I had a strong pre-season and felt the fittest I’ve ever been. I made a good start and was just starting to get going.

"Coming to a new team, a new set-up and playing with new players, I’d just started to hit a bit of form. The ankle injury came at a bad time.

"I was out for about five or six weeks and when I came back, I wasn’t quite right.

"Where I’m a bit younger, I rushed back from it too quickly, desperate to get back to where I was at before.

"I struggled to get back in the team and they’ve been on a good run ever since."