Kieran Agard: Plymouth Argyle striker ready for first start in 659 days

Kieran Agard says he is ready to up his involvement with Plymouth Argyle as he prepares to make what could be his first league start in 659 days.

The 31-year-old last started an English Football League game on 21 December 2019 while at Milton Keynes Dons.

But with Luke Jephcott away on international duty, Agard, who has recovered from a serious knee injury, may start against Burton on Saturday.

"It's been a long road but I'm more than ready," Agard said.

"I always had in my head that I was focused to get back playing and to score goals, which is what I love doing and I have done throughout my career."

The former Everton youngster, who also had a two-season spell at Bristol City, moved to Argyle as a free agent this summer after being released by MK Dons.

He has made six substitute appearances for the Pilgrims since joining, but the form of Wales Under-21 striker Jephcott and strike partner Ryan Hardie has kept him out of the side.

"His fitness has gone way better, we monitor it every day," Argyle manager Ryan Lowe said.

"His finishing's sharper, so I've got no problem if I have to play Kieran Agard, none at all, even though he has had two years out.

"Will he last 90 minutes? I don't know. We haven't made our minds up on that yet, we've got other options. But what Kieran's done is he hasn't played for a long time and we want to make sure that he doesn't just play one or two games and breaks down. We want him to play a lot of games.

"He's signed a short-term deal, we want to make sure we reward Kieran for game time and fitness time and being good around the place, and if he continues to do what he's been doing he'll be fine with that. Either way, if Kieran's called upon I've got no problems that he'll perform."

The Pilgrims are currently third in League One after going unbeaten since the opening day of the season.

And with Wigan and Sunderland - the two sides above them - not playing because of international call-ups, Plymouth will go top of the table if they beat Burton on Saturday.

"As soon as I came in I saw the quality in the squad," added Agard.

"I saw the togetherness with the players, the staff and the fans and I knew that it was going to be something good.

"That's evident in the last few games that we've had and the unbeaten run, but it's still important to remain level-headed and prepared for each game and do the right things."