JOSS Labadie is set to make his first appearance at Rodney Parade since February tonight and he can’t wait to hear the Newport County AFC fans at full volume.

Labadie’s last home game for the Exiles was a 0-0 draw against Notts County on February 17.

He suffered an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury in training in March and only returned to action as a substitute at Cheltenham Town in the Checkatrade Trophy last week.

The 28-year-old also came off the bench at Swindon Town on Saturday and he’s hoping to get more minutes under his belt in this evening’s FA Cup second-round replay against Wrexham.

“I’m very grateful to the fans for giving me a great reception [away from home] and I can’t wait to get out there again,” said the midfielder.

“I can’t remember the last time I played at Rodney Parade and I’m looking forward to that massively.”

The winner of tonight’s tie will host former Premier League champions Leicester City in the third round.

“It’s exciting but we’ve got a tough task against Wrexham first and we need to focus on that and not get carried away,” said Labadie, who was the star man when County held Tottenham Hotspur in last season’s fourth-round tie.

“But hopefully we can win and look forward to that tie.

“It’s a great incentive but we’re all professionals and we go into any game 100 per cent [focused] and wanting to win so we’ll be focused on the task in hand.

“It would be nice to have another night like that [Tottenham game],” he added.

“That was probably one of my best performances in a County shirt. Hopefully there’s a few more of them to come now.”

Wrexham caretaker manager Graham Barrow is expecting a tough match tonight.

“We expect a response from Newport,” said Barrow. “We feel they've got another notch or two but we also feel, if we’re at our best, we can be near to getting something.”