Maidstone United manager George Elokobi on skipper Sam Corne’s return in goalless National League South draw at Hemel Hempstead

Skipper Sam Corne’s return from injury was a major plus for Maidstone in their draw at Hemel Hempstead.

Corne got through 90 minutes after missing the last five games with a calf injury as United drew 0-0 with the Tudors.

He might even have won it near the end after going through on goal.

Stones boss George Elokobi has been treading carefully with the midfielder but it was time to bring him back on Saturday and he showed how much he’d been missed in the middle of the park.

“He's been out for a little while,” said Elokobi. “It's difficult.

“I was thinking, as a manager, should I bring him off with 10 or 15 minutes to go just to protect him?

“But again, we kept communicating between myself, him and Craig (Fagan, assistant manager) and he gave the thumbs up and said he was good to continue.

“When he says it, you have to respect that because he's honest in his work for the team.

“But more importantly, he wanted to ensure that if we didn't take three points, we didn't lose the game either, and that's why he stayed out there.

“It's good to have him back. We've got to build his minutes. We've got to manage his training load.

“It's important that we look at all of that and make sure, hopefully, he'll be available again next Saturday against Bath.”

Corne was given a special welcome back by Tudors defender Kyle Ajayi, who wiped him out near the touchline.

There were calls for a red card but Ajayi escaped with a yellow and Elokobi had no problem with the tackle.

“It was a good challenge, an old-fashioned challenge,” said the Stones boss. “It was old school. He's committed to clearing the ball and Sam has just been half a second quicker than him in terms of nicking the ball.

“He's caught Sam but not a problem. Sam got up and got on