It has been a difficult year for Doncaster Rovers striker Steve Brooker.

The 28 year-old front man joined the Rovers on an initial loan deal from Bristol City this time last season, making an immediate impact in his only appearance for the Club to date; coming on as a second-half substitute against his former club Watford at Vicarage Road and scoring within minutes of taking to the field.

However, in training the following Monday, Brooker received an injury to his calf muscle, which began a chain of events leading to surgery on a problematic Achilles injury. The striker joined Doncaster Rovers on a permanent deal in the January transfer window but is yet to have made a first team appearance since last November's trip to the Hornets.

A year later, Brooker is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and is continuing his rehabilitation with Rovers head physio John Dickens at Cantley Park. However, the former Port Vale man has revealed how much the restrictions his injury he suffered has caused his life altogether.

Speaking to DoncasterRoversFC.co.uk last week, Brooker was scheduled to see his surgeon yesterday afternoon (Tuesday), to get the green light to commence running for the first time since his surgery. The outcome of that meeting with the surgeon was that Brooker CAN start a slow build up to running fully again - and will start that process with John Dickens on Thursday.

"I have been out of the boot now for about six weeks," Brooker told the Club's official website.

"At the start of last year, I was fine up until five months into the season. I started feeling my Achilles initially then. I rehabbed then and was back playing - that was when I came to Doncaster Rovers initially on loan. Shortly afterwards, I suffered the calf tear and it was after I had recovered from that and started running again after I joined Donny permanently, I started feeling the Achilles again. However, every scan I had on the Achilles, it showed that there were no abnormalities. I then saw an ankle specialist, as they believed their may have been an impingement, as I had torn it when I was a YT and that there could be too much movement in my ankle."

"That was the only road we could go down as the cause of the pain. The decision was then made to have the ankle operation and afterwards, I had rehabbed that; started running again after three months and I was still having the same pain. At the time, it was sort of a mystery as to what the problem was. I went to have another scan on the ankle and it showed up immediately that I had tendonopathy of the Achilles tendon. Afterwards, I had three injections in the back of my ankle, two in and around my Achilles and it still kept getting worse and worse. The only option I had was to have the Achilles decompression, which is what I had twelve weeks ago."

However, Brooker takes comfort in the fact that eventually scans DID find something wrong with the Achilles tendon.

"It's as John Dickens said, at least something has been found, because if things aren't found, you can't treat it. I know it was a lengthily operation and it has been a complete nightmare situation for me but now, hopefully, the worst is now over. I can now look forward to the next few weeks, so that I can start jogging. It is still something that I am going to have to manage and gradually continue to get better."

Even away from the training ground, Brooker confesses that the injury has caused a massive inconvenience to his everyday life.

"I've not even been able to walk," explains Steve.

"This year, I have been in a cast for six weeks, a boot for two months, I've not been able to drive - so it's good that soon I can hopefully just get a bit of normality, even with my kids and stuff. It seems silly that just the easiest thing like running after your kids is hard to do. It's nice to be able to just walk to the shops and back without crutches!"

DoncasterRoversFC.co.uk spoke to Brooker after he continued his rehabilitation by using the weights in the gym and cycling on the bike machines; a welcome sight after seeing the striker hobbling around on crutches.

"I have been loading it up to the stage that I can up the weights every day. I've been on the bike now for the past two or three weeks and have managed to stand up on the bike. I've also been working on the trampette and building my whole leg. It feels pretty good at the moment. Obviously, I am going to have bits and pieces, because I have had two operations. I just really can't wait to get back running."