Josh Ward-Hibbert brushed off his latest injury scare and declared himself fit and ready to clinch glory for club and country as a thrilling campaign gathers pace.

The Newcastle Eagles guard and 2025 Trophy winner returned to action on limited minutes against Caledonia Gladiators last Friday.

And Ward-Hibbert was named in Great Britain’s 20-man training squad earlier this week — ahead of huge EuroBasket qualifiers against Holland and Czechia.

“I feel sharp,” said the former London and Leicester favourite. “I’m just going to push myself into a better place for whenever I’m on the court next.

“The international window has been on the horizon for a few weeks now and I always wanted to be involved. Hopefully, I’ve done enough over the last few months to make the final cut.

“I proved myself over the summer window and I really wanted to make the November window but it wasn’t to be.”

GB face Holland in Den Haag tomorrow before hosting Czechia at Newcastle’s Vertu Motors Arena on Monday.

And Marc Steutel’s men are in a strong position to punch their ticket for the 42nd edition of EuroBasket after moving to 2-2 in Group F.

“I know that myself and the guys are excited to be back together this week and hopefully achieving our goals,” said Steutel from GB’s training camp in Amsterdam.

“I think that we’ve continually demonstrated how to play for our country, what it means to represent GB, and how we can do that consistently.

“The Netherlands have a clear style of play and a clear identity with some really talented players playing at high levels across Europe.

“So, we know what their style of play is and what they want to achieve on both sides of the ball.

“We have to try and make sure that we’re prepared for that, and we make sure the game is more of our style, is more of ours than theirs, and that’s something that we’ll be trying to make sure we bring to life each and every day and build towards for tip-off.

“Representing Great Britain, proudly on the front of their jerseys, the players that we’ve got here go above and beyond, continually making themselves available for the national team, and give an incredible amount to this programme.

“They represent themselves, their teammates, their clubs, their country, their families and their friends. That’s the motivation that drives us.”

Josh Ward-Hibbert will be representing the Eagles in the national team again this window, having received the call-up to camp after being a key component of coach Steutel’s Newcastle roster this season.

Success in Europe is something Steutel and Ward-Hibbert have already seen together this month after they took the top spot of their group in the European North Basketball League competition earlier this month.

“If I get the final call-up for this window it will be a massive honour,” added Ward-Hibbert. “I’ll do all I can just to be in the best place.

“When I’m on the floor, I’ll just do whatever I can to help the team win and be the best person I can be for the team.

“And if I don’t make the cut I’ll be right behind the other guys, supporting from the sidelines.”

There was talk that British Basketball were considering moving away from Newcastle as the de facto home for the senior men’s programme.

But it is understood players and staff were keen to stick with what works well following a series of eye-catching performances on Tyneside.

Eagles favourite Ward-Hibbert needs no convincing that the North East is the best place to be as GB inch closer to August’s EuroBasket tournament.

“The rest of the guys love playing in Newcastle — they always do,” he added. “It’s always exciting to see the national team up here.

“The international windows are so short and we get so little time together that it makes sense to make things as familiar as possible.

“Every window is like a mini pre-season so you just want to settle into some kind of rhythm straight away and coming back to the Vertu Motors Arena helps with that.

“The Czechia game on Monday could be another huge one for this programme and I know the Newcastle fans will get right behind Marc and the guys.”

Ward-Hibbert clearly lacked match fitness against Gladiators on his return to action — a clash underpinned by Money Mike Okauru’s season-high 40 points.

And the experienced campaigner admitted he wanted to exert a greater influence on a scrappy affair after making Steutel’s bench.

“The rest of the Eagles guys made it very easy for me to slot back in as they always do,” indeed Ward-Hibbert.

“But it was a frustrating night for me. I would have liked to have performed better and to have made better decisions but that will come once I get a few more games under my belt.”

Tomorrow night’s tip-off can be watched live on Courtside 1891 or DAZN, both with subscription.

Tickets are still available for the Monday night EuroBasket Qualifier, but are selling fast so be quick to book now on the box office.