IT'S always nice to go home and catch up with old friends. For most of us, though, the prospect of being beaten up by them would be a bit off-putting. Not for Michael Allen. When he heads back to Belfast on Friday, the prospect of being smashed by former work colleagues and schoolmates is not only exciting, but exactly what he thinks he needs.

The secret to this odd behaviour is being a professional rugby player. For Allen, hitting opponents in tackles, and being hit in turn, is just what he needs to prove to his current coaches at Edinburgh that he is over the shoulder trouble that has kept him out of action during the opening months of his first season with the club and that he deserves a run in his preferred role in the centre.

So far, he admits, his move to Scotland has not worked out as he envisaged. Six years after joining the Ulster Academy programme straight from school, where he was team-mates with Craig Gilroy, a year ahead of Paddy Jackson and a rival to Luke Marshall, another Ballymena pupil but at a different school, he elected to kickstart his stalling career by taking up an offer to move east.

At first things looked good. Then disaster struck as a pre-season wrestling drill left him with torn shoulder ligaments that needed an operation: "I had dislocated it previously with Ulster but it was totally fine," he recalled. "I was put in an awkward position and something went. I had to have full shoulder surgery, which should have meant 20 weeks out, but rehab went well and I was out for only 16 weeks. It was quicker than expected but still felt long."

The problem for Allen was that after emerging from the academy at Ulster, he found himself stuck behind more established players as a centre, and chances were few and far between – so much so that he ended up playing more on the wing, where he felt far less comfortable and admits he never had the pace to shine.

So when Edinburgh came calling, he had no real qualms about taking them up on their offer. While there are plenty of candidates for the No.13 jersey he aspires to wear on a regular basis, nobody has it nailed down – everybody knows there is a vacancy and it is up to each individual whether or not they win the competition each week.

For Allen, the chance came late with an eight-minute cameo last week against the Newport Gwent Dragons, followed by more than an hour toiling in the mud of Mansfield Park as Hawick failed to master the conditions against Heriot's. Now, the signs are that he is going to get his turn this week, and that it is back on former home turf in Belfast only adds to his sense of excitement.

"My shoulder got a few bangs at the weekend and although it is sore it is fine," he said. "For me this is the start of trying to establish myself in the Edinburgh team after my injury. The lads who are in the positions I am after – 13 or, if it comes down to it, the wing – have done well since the start of the season, have done nothing wrong, so I have to prove I can play at this level.

"I just want to play my best rugby and, if I play well, I could maybe one day play for Ireland. The confidence for me just now with my shoulder is to simply get back hitting people, getting hit, getting smashed – that will be me getting better. They [Ulster] will do that to me this weekend, which is fair enough.

"I will be playing against the boys I grew up with. I am still friendly with them and there have been a few text messages. Everybody there is excited to see me again, you don’t go six years and not become friendly with your work colleagues. They become your best friends – but not for the 80 minutes this weekend."

Allen could be part of the answer to finding the last piece in the Edinburgh jigsaw. While the forwards have been hammering their opponents most of this season, the team has struggled to convert all that possession and pressure into scores – last weekend was the first try bonus they had picked up in 10 games, seven producing wins.

Even then, it took four opposition yellow cards and a late flourish to get there, and Phil Burleigh, the fly half, feels they probably missed another three or four chances. "It's a patience thing," he said. "The boys have got to learn how to be ruthless when you get down into that 22. We are creating a lot of opportunities but sometimes not being patient enough. Once it clicks we'll be a team that's tough to beat every week that's for sure."