Craig Forsyth has revealed his determination to make an impression on manager Gary Rowett during pre-season.
The Scotland international left-back missed the majority of last season after suffering a second long-term knee injury inside a year.
He sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage against Queens Park Rangers in November 2015, before lightening struck twice against Aston Villa in August 2016 – just four competitive games into his comeback.
After resuming full training in the closing weeks of the 2016/17 season, following a successful rehabilitation programme, Forsyth is set to begin pre-season training in June from the word go with the rest of the Derby squad.
The 28-year-old is desperate to make a positive first impression on Rowett, who was appointed as Derby’s manager in March, from a footballing perspective.
After so long out of action, Forsyth is relishing the prospect of getting down to work during pre-season and, whisper it quietly, he’s actually looking forward to what awaits the players ahead of the new campaign!
He told RamsTV: “The plan is to come back and join in from day one of pre-season.
“I actually did a pre-season of sorts after I returned to training in March, so April got me in really good shape. To play a game is the final box ticked and when that is achieved, it will be a real relief.
“I am really looking forward to pre-season, although I can’t believe I’m saying that because it’s not normally something to relish!
“It’ll be a tough pre-season but I know that it’s a case of putting the hard work in to make sure it pays off.
“I am still looking to make my first impression on the manager so I am desperate to impress.
“I’ve had two long-term injuries but I have to put it all out my mind once I am back on the pitch. I’ve lived and dealt with it and I’ve learnt about my body and what it can take.”
After seeming to breeze his way through his rehabilitation work, Forsyth began full training back in March.
He actually travelled with the first-team squad to the final game of the season against Rotherham United in early May, and took part in the pre-match warm-up.
The former Dundee and Watford man spent large parts of last summer at the Training Centre on the road to recovery from his first long-term lay-off, but admits he will be taking more time to switch off this time around.
From a mental perspective, Forsyth feels it’s important to get away and spend some time with the family after almost 18 months of solid rehabilitation work.
That said, he has revealed he will be returning for pre-season training a little earlier that the rest of the squad to make sure he’s up to speed.
He said: “I’ve got a similar schedule to everyone else so I’ll be able to get away for a few weeks.
“I’ll switch off and get away, that’s important, but I want to be in tip-top condition for pre-season.
“I’ve had 18 months pretty much working on my rehabilitation so this summer I’ve wanted to utilise the chance to have a break, mentally as much as anything.
“However, two or three weeks before everyone comes back, I will start coming in and getting back on top of things.
“I trained quite a bit towards the end of the season but without having anything at the end of it, which can be frustrating.
“That, however, was the timescale and I knew I wasn’t going to play again during the season.”