Five months ago, Douglas was informed with brutal honestly that his season was almost certainly finished, decimated by the knee injury he sustained at Walsall 10 days before Christmas.

The midfielder had damaged the same knee while on the books of Blackburn Rovers five years earlier, and United's prognosis was pessimistic.

"It's easier if we take it as him being out for the rest of the season," said Dennis Wise, the club's manager at the time. "If we get him back before then, it's a plus."

Wise was no longer at Elland Road when Douglas surprised the club's medical team by resuming his season before the end of March, but his predecessor, Gary McAllister, has taken immediate advantage of an unlikely benefit.

Douglas regained the captaincy of Leeds within weeks of his recovery, and he will hold the armband on Monday evening when United begin their play-off semi-final against Carlisle United.

McAllister's appreciation of Douglas' role in his squad has been made clear by his continued selection over the past six weeks.

Play-off semi-finals call for players with relevant experience behind them but few clubs in League One possess a pool strong enough to allow a Republic of Ireland international to lead them from the tunnel.

Douglas feared he would watch the play-offs from the stands, but the gratitude created by his early return has not altered his understanding of how important the fortnight ahead will be for his club.

"Missing these games would have been tough," he said.

"This is why I wanted to play football. At home we'll have 40,000 fans, and away from home it'll be really hostile. These are the games I love playing in.

"At the start of the season I'd been given an opportunity and I was playing well. Then all of a sudden it went up in smoke, and you're looking at three months out, maybe four. You don't know when you'll be back.
"I'd injured this knee about five years ago when I was at Blackburn and I was out for nine months then. I knew it wasn't as serious – but that it was serious. The physio said 'I think your season's probably over', but he also told me to keep working hard.

"I owe a lot to the physios. I'm sure I was a nightmare for them because I don't like watching football.

"At the very start I thought that was my season was finished but through their hard work and my hard work I've come back sooner than I thought I would."

Douglas' rugged contribution in the centre of midfield is easy to overlook, but the midfielder's impact over the course of the season is statistically obvious, and a reason why his contribution to the play-offs may be as telling as that of any other player in McAllister's squad.

The 26-year-old has played in 24 of United's 46 league games – his recovery from knee ligament damage took three-and-a-half months – featuring in 18 of their victories and only three of the club's nine defeats.

In the appearances that followed his return as a substitute in the 2-0 win over Walsall on March 22, Leeds recorded five wins from six matches.

Their sole loss at Huddersfield Town came after Douglas had been dismissed for a second bookable offence while the score was goalless.