TORONTO - The horseshoe-shaped scar on Iain Hume's head is hard to miss with little more than stubble on his scalp. But so is his smile when he talks about how much he is enjoying his soccer these days.

The 27-year-old striker is enjoying a new lease on life at England's Preston North End after stints with Tranmere Rovers, Leicester City and Barnsley. And he is back in Canada's squad as it opens World Cup qualifying play against St. Lucia on Friday at Toronto's BMO Field.

Hume has played in just two Canadian matches since the last round of World Cup qualifiers in 2008.

His soccer career and life were thrown into jeopardy playing for Barnsley on Nov. 8, 2008, when he took an elbow from Sheffield United's Chris Morgan as both players went for a ball in the air.

Hume was substituted after the collision and was sent home with what the club thought was a concussion. The next day, however, he was talking gibberish and his family took him to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery for internal bleeding and a fractured skull.

The ugly incident drew plenty of attention with Hume, in an interview from his hospital bed with the Sunday Times, saying he had warned the referee about Morgan's physical tactics. Morgan only received a yellow card on the play.

"I had pleaded with the referee to give me some protection. I could have died," Hume told the Times.

He missed the rest of the 2008-09 season and saw little action in the 2009-10 campaign after missing training camp and a good chunk of the season. "I was sort of starting a couple of yards behind everybody," he said.

Last season, he was loaned out to Preston where he found a new home.

"I just needed to play," he said. "Anybody who knows me, I'm an angry man when I'm not playing. And I just wanted to be involved all the time. And Preston offered me that.

"I don't think people notice that I took quite a substantial pay cut just to go just to play week in week out."

Preston was relegated to League One but Hume says he "went down sort of with a smile on my face because I played 30-odd games.

"I hadn't done that in two years."

The loan deal became permanent in January and Hume has become a popular and effective Preston player. He had 12 goals in 29 games last season and has two in four so far this season with Preston currently standing fourth in England's third tier.

Hume says he has had no physical after-effects of his injury. A mobile five-foot-seven, 159-pound terrier on the field, he says his playing style has not changed.

"I'm aggressive, I like getting involved and I'll never pull out of anything," he said.

"I just don't hold back," he added. "I have no reason to hold back. I'm a lucky guy to still be here, to be honest.

"But again it's one of those things, I brushed it away. It's coming up three years in a month and a half. I don't think about it that much any more. You get the odd little thing that shows up on telly or a picture comes up in the paper. That's the only thing that makes me think or it. Other than that I'm back to the old me and I'm enjoying life."

Hume says he never considered growing his hair to hide the scar, which snakes from the top of his scalp to his left ear.

"I don't think you'll ever find a picture of me with long hair. I might have a daft haircut but I'll never have a long haircut. It's not me. I don't see the point of changing who I am and what I'm about to cover up something that's part of my life."

A civil suit arising out of the injury continues, however.

"It's something I don't like thinking about," Hume said. "It's something I leave to the legal people. They control all that. I just sign papers and send them back. I'm concentrated on playing football and this week I'm concentrated on playing for Canada."

Coach Stephen Hart is happy to have him back, especially with strikers Rob Friend, Olivier Occean and Ali Gerba unavailable at this time. Family commitments kept Hume out of the Gold Cup earlier this summer.

"It's been spectacular," Hart said of his comeback. "He's been really (pushing) to come back and play for Canada. ... Now he has that opportunity and hopefully makes the best of it."

Born in Edinburgh to Scottish parents, Hume came to Canada when he was one. Growing up in Brampton, Ont., he made his debut for Tranmere in April 200 when he was just 16.

He opted to play for Canada when offered the chance to try out for the Scottish under-17 team.