Luke McCullough was pleased with his performance after coming through his first 45 minutes of football this season for Rovers on Tuesday.
The midfielder completed 45 minutes on his return from injury, as Rovers were defeated 3-2 by Bradford City’s reserve side at Apperley Bridge training ground.
McCullough was handed his first taste of a match since the final game of the 2016/17 Sky Bet League Two season against Hartlepool United, and the midfielder was delighted to get some playing time under his belt.
“The most important thing was to get the minutes into the legs, and the performances will come after that, but I was really happy with how it went and I’m looking forward to playing more games,” he said.
“John Schofield and Paul Stancliffe just said to get onto the ball, enjoy being back in the game and play my own game because it has been a long time for me.
“Every time you get a set-back it knocks you back again and once you get your head around it you start to think about getting back to full fitness, hopefully the bad luck is behind me and I can kick on now.”
It has been a frustrating start to the past two seasons for McCullough due to lengthy spells on the sideline, and the 23-year-old hopes his bad luck with injuries is now behind him.
“Being injured is one of the worst things in football, you are not being allowed to do what you love to do, it is mentally tough sometimes but hopefully that is the end of the back luck I have had with injuries,” he added.
“It’s not going to be an easy task to get back into the side because the lads are playing really well at the moment, but if myself and Alex Kiwomya can get back in the team and help in any way that we can we’ll be ready.
“Myself, Alex and Danny Andrew have all had long-term injuries this season and it’s helped in each of our own recovery, whether it’s pushing each other in the gym or helping each other out as best we can.”