Brisbane Roar captain Tom Aldred has “drawn a line under” his tough injury run and feels ready to make an impact on the club’s Isuzu UTE A-League campaign.
Having overcome successive knee and calf injuries, centre-back Aldred returned to match action with a first-half outing for the Brisbane Roar Youth team in a recent NPL warm-up win over Lions FC.
It was the Englishman’s first run out since the Roar’s pre-season clash with Adelaide in Ipswich in October and the comeback appearance has fueled his appetite for more.
“I played 45 minutes the other night, albeit in an NPL game, but it was probably the most enjoyable 45 minutes I’ve had in the past six or seven months because I was back out there doing what I love,” Aldred said.
“Obviously it’s been a frustrating period for me. Having a full pre-season and then picking up a pretty significant injury right at the end was just frustrating.
“It’s been a tough time but I’ll draw a line under that and move forward now and look forward to the rest of the season.
“I’m looking forward to being back out there.”
Aldred featured 45 times in all competitions across his first two seasons with the Roar and said while he has encountered issues in the past like all players, he’s had to adopt a different mindset over the last few months.
“This process has been a learning period,” he said.
“I’ve always been one of them to have that patch up mentality and think: ‘let’s get on with it.’ But ultimately, when you’ve had significant injuries, it’s a bit different from when you’ve just had knocks.
“I’ve used this period to come back stronger, work on myself physically.
“I think my body is ready now and good enough to cope.”
The skipper’s return, which could now come away to Central Coast Mariners on Saturday, will be a welcome boost for Brisbane with just over half the season still remaining.
“Let’s have it right – we don’t want to be sitting where we are right now,” he said.
“But there’s not a lot in the league. We feel we’ve got a squad that can put results together and if you do that, you can find yourself in a completely different position in two, three, four games. That’s what we want to do.
“We want to start getting some consistent results, both home and away.
“I’m looking forward to cracking on now.”
NEXT GAME
Isuzu UTE A-League Men
Central Coast Mariners v Brisbane Roar
Saturday, 5 March 2022
Central Coast Stadium
KO: 4:05pm (QLD)
