Harry Chapman is keen to get games under his belt after impressing on his Shrewsbury Town debut in the FA Cup defeat at Southampton on Tuesday night.

It has been quite the wait for Chapman to make his first appearance for his loan club because of the Covid pandemic, with the Saints defeat Shrewsbury’s first game since December 29.

That win over Blackpool made it 13 points from a possible 15 under new boss Steve Cotterill, moving them clear of the League One relegation places, with Chapman signed two days later.

The original tie, scheduled for January 9, was postponed owing to coronavirus cases within the Shrewsbury squad, and re-arranged for last night where Chapman was handed his first start.

He operated in a more central role than used at Rovers, playing 63 minutes before being replaced, managing a game-high five dribbles, and two shots at goal, and said to have caught the eye in an impressive first outing.  

Chapman had made five substitute appearances for Rovers in the Championship, and an unused sub on 10 occasions, before joining the League One side on loan until the end of the season.

The 23-year-old has three times won promotion from League One, including with Rovers in 2017/18, a loan spell that was cut short six months in because of injury.

Chapman also spent time with Barnsley in 2015/16 and Sheffield United the following year, before Tony Mowbray made his move for the Middlesbrough youngster after relegation to the third tier in 2017.

The winger became a hit with supporters during his 16 appearances, before sealing a return on a permanent deal in January 2019, though he has only made one league start for the club.

On his move, he said: “I wasn’t getting much game time and I was limited to what I was able to show.

“Hopefully coming here with this manager, he puts his full trust in me and I get some games under my belt.”

His last start in the competition saw him net a hat-trick for Sheffield United against Leyton Orient in November 2016, but a tough run of injuries has seen his opportunities limited.

He scored twice for Rovers Under-23s against Derby County last month, and will now look to get more minutes under his belt at Shrewsbury in the remainder of the season, with his deal up for renewal at Ewood Park.

Shrewsbury are now out of all the cup competitions, but still have 26 league matches to play, with Chapman aiming for a league debut when they travel to Sunderland this weekend.

On January 26 he could come up against another Rovers loanee, Hayden Carter. He scored on his Brewers debut in a win at Gillingham earlier this month and played 90 minutes in a narrow defeat to Ipswich Town at the weekend.

Elsewhere, Brad Lyons wasn’t part of the Morecambe squad for their draw at Walsall, despite making his debut in the FA Cup tie at Chelsea and following that up with a substitute outing in the League Two defeat to Leyton Orient at the weekend.