Jordan Houghton enjoyed pulling on a Rovers shirt again as he made the first appearance of his loan spell against Peterborough United.
The 21-year-old midfielder came off the bench against Posh two days after returning to the club on loan from Chelsea, and seven months after a serious knee injury ended his previous stay in South Yorkshire.
He said: “It’s great to be back. I’ve come back earlier than expected, so the physios have said to the manager to keep the reins on me a bit but hopefully I can work my way back to full fitness and then into the side.
“When you get back into it you have to be physically and mentally ready. A major thing in football is how you come back from setbacks, I’ve done some work with a psychologist which has put me in a good mindframe and hopefully I can build on that and get back to the levels of last season.
“My loan was until the last game of the season so felt like I was still part of the squad, the manager and players kept in touch. That helped me get through the early stages and influenced my decision to come back.”
Houghton played the final 20 minutes against Posh, and feels Rovers’ performance should give them plenty of confidence for the rest of the campaign.
He added: “It was a proper footballing game, they’re a good side who we have gone toe to toe with. The manager said we’ve got to have the belief in ourselves.
“We showed some good periods where we knocked the ball about and could easily have come away with three points.”
Rovers are back in action at the Keepmoat Stadium on Sunday September 17 when Scunthorpe United visit. Secure your spot for the game, or the visits to Northampton Town, Rochdale or Arsenal now at tickets.clubdoncaster.co.uk.