Joy for Argyle skipper Edwards after injury return

Joe Edwards made his 288th Plymouth Argyle appearance in the 2-0 win at Leyton Orient [Getty Images] Plymouth Argyle captain Joe Edwards says he is happy to have made his first League One start of the season after recovering from injury. The 35-year-old is Argyle's longest-serving player, having been at Home Park since the summer of 2019. In that time he has helped the Pilgrims win promotions from League Two all the way to the Championship - and also scored the crucial goal that kept Argyle in the second tier on the final day of the 2023-24 season. He has been gradually increasing his playing time since returning to fitness after a having a procedure on his knee during the summer and started in the 2-0 win at Leyton Orient on Saturday. "It's taken time for me to get back up to speed - I missed all the pre-season so it was about managing myself and trying to get myself ready to a level to help," he told BBC Radio Devon. "Luckily I've been able to come on in games and help some of the results and the boys have been fantastic, I haven't had a complaint of not starting because they've been doing really well. "Maybe last week gave me a chance to get my start this week, I've been ready to go and felt really good. "It was just a nice feeling to get back out there and have a positive result and performance and long may that continue." 'No talk' of league position as Plymouth Argyle go top Plymouth beat Orient to go top of League One Edwards previously played for an hour after starting Argyle's Jersey Mike's Trophy win over Crystal Palace Under-21's last month. But with the team playing well he was unable to earn a place in the league side until after their disappointing 1-0 loss at home to Burton Albion last week. Victory at Brisbane Road saw Argyle go top of League One - the first time they have reached the summit of a table since Edwards lifted the trophy in May 2023, when he and his teammates collected a club-record 101 points. "It was nice to be back out there, I missed that feeling of walking out and being a part of it," he said. "But the boys have been fantastic recently and albeit with a little blip last week, the last month or two has been really good and positive." He added: "We can only get the points we can and we've got more than anyone else at the minute and it's a good place to be. "You'd rather be there than not I guess, but we've got a long season ahead of us and I've been in this position before and once you do get there it's important to stay there and keep your feet on the ground "It's three points and it's taken us where it's taken us, but we've got a long old season ahead of us and a lot of really tough fixtures."