CHERRIES stalwart Stephen Purches revealed the prospect of playing in his own testimonial got him and his family through the darkest days of his injury nightmare.

Purches will lead Cherries on to the Dean Court turf when West Ham United come to town for the popular 33-year-old’s match tomorrow (3pm).

It will bring to an end a painstaking 18 months for the former Hammers trainee who suffered a double leg break during Cherries’ 1-0 defeat at Rochdale in February 2012.

And Purches, who made his return to action in a low-key friendly win at Wimborne last weekend, is relishing tomorrow's big occasion and remains overwhelmed by the support he received during his comeback bid.

Purches told the Daily Echo: “It will be an emotional day for me. With an injury like mine, you can get written off, but I have got another chance to get out there and it is this game that has kept me going.

“I didn’t want to miss out and this will be a big game both for me and my family because the injury didn’t just affect me. It affected everyone around me, including my two boys.

“When I put on the training kit now, my little boy Harry also wears his, but Ben, who is a little bit older, was affected by the injury and it put him off football a little bit.

“My wife had to give up a hell of a lot as well. I had to be waited on hand and foot and I was on crutches for six months. I relied on a lot of people to get to places and do the simple day-to-day stuff. I am very humbled that people did that for me.

“But life is getting back to normal now and tomorrow's game will be a little bit of closure on the past 18 months.”

Purches, who was last week appointed player-coach in charge of Cherries’ development squad, added: “The most important thing was getting back to health for my family and to get my life back because I didn’t want my lads to miss out.

“The boys will walk on to the pitch with me tomorrow and we have talked them through it. They will be getting used to it now because of the standing ovation we got at the open top bus parade.

“They are very lucky and I would like to thank everyone at both clubs for taking the game so seriously and the West Ham fans for selling out their end. It looks like being a good crowd and the boys will think all the cheering is for them!”

Meanwhile, West Ham have confirmed they will bring their first team squad for the match, with England international Joe Cole expected to feature in a strong line-up.

Cherries legend Steve Fletcher and ex-Dean Court star Darren Anderton will both come out of retirement to play alongside Purches.

Tickets are priced at £15 for adults, £10 for concessions and £5 for under-16s.