Reece Cole made a return to the pitch on Saturday in the Grecians' 2-1 defeat to Barnsley after an almost month-long injury dilemma.
The midfielder said he was delighted to have been re-introduced to the City side after suffering injury three-and-a-half weeks prior, "The injury was frustrating, but to get back out there is what you work hard for and it's an amazing feeling to be back on the pitch."
"I've got minutes in my legs now and hopefully I can push on get plenty more."
Tuesday's opponents Lincoln City leapfrogged Cardiff City at the weekend to land at the top of the pile, extending an 18-match unbeaten run stretching back to November 2025.
"They're a really good team this season, they're good at what they do and they're a physical side. They play quite direct football but then have a lot of good 1v1 players and 1v1 attacking moments that we'll need to be careful of."
"We'll go through everything today, obviously they're on a great run but those runs are there to be broken."
Hear more from Reece below on Grecian+