Notts County's Nick Tsaroulla is no stranger to life's ups and downs—and the 27-year-old winger is determined to soak up every moment of the club's League Two play-off push. After surviving a car crash that nearly ended his career as a teenager, Tsaroulla has learned to cherish the game like few others.

This Friday, he'll step onto the pitch at a sold-out Meadow Lane, with 17,000 fans roaring for the Magpies in the second leg of their play-off semi-final against East Midlands rivals Chesterfield. For Tsaroulla, it's more than just a match; it's a moment to treasure.

"It's a short career, a short life," Tsaroulla told BBC Sport. "Life can be taken away in any second, football can be taken away in any second—which it was for me. Then you realize how much you miss it, and you just want to enjoy every second."

The winger's journey back to the pitch is nothing short of remarkable. In 2017, while on the books at Tottenham, a head-on collision in Winchmore Hill, north London, left him fighting for his life. The crash derailed his promising career, forcing him out of the game for a year and leading to his release from Spurs in 2018. But Tsaroulla refused to let his dream die. He rebuilt his career with Brentford's B team before thriving at Crawley Town, where he scored a stunning first senior goal in a famous FA Cup win over Leeds United in January 2021.

Now with Notts County, Tsaroulla is playing a key role in the club's bid to return to League One after an 11-year absence. The play-offs represent a chance to write a new chapter—and he's determined to make it count.

"Notts is such a big club, and it's such a lovely moment to play—you have to cherish it," he said. "One day, in 30 or 40 years' time, hopefully I can look back with my kids and grandkids and tell them stories about the experience I got to live through, playing in a play-off game like this against Chesterfield in a derby."

For Tsaroulla, every match is a gift. And with the play-offs heating up, he's ready to make the most of it.