Danny East has put his faith in a change of luck as he insisted: Don’t write my season off yet.
The versatile defender has impressed since his summer 2013 arrival but has been struck down by several injuries – one of which was a fractured bone in his neck.
But it’s his latest setback – an ankle ligament problem suffered back in December – which has left East sidelined for more than three months.
His recovery was then delayed, but the 22-year-old dismissed the idea of writing off the campaign and is now back in full training in a bid to feature for Andy Awford before the season ends.
East said: ‘I’ve been pretty unlucky – I’ve had five injuries this season and two of them have been quite serious.
‘Breaking your neck is not good and this latest one has kept me out for three months.
‘It’s been frustrating but I’m hoping for a change of luck.
‘We discussed writing off the season and getting myself ready for day one of pre-season to make sure.
‘But that’s not in my nature.
‘I want to play football as soon as possible.
‘So if that means getting back for the final game of the season, then I will do that.
‘I suppose it’s the way I am. When I did my neck, I was playing on painkillers because the team needed me, but I felt I did quite well.
‘I’d got to a point where I was showing what I could do, getting some form behind me and then I got another injury.’
East looked on course for a quick return before he suffered a setback.
But at least the defender avoided an operation, which would have ended his campaign.
‘It was the ligaments and the bone but I was lucky not to need an operation really,’ said East.
‘I’ve got two screws in my left foot but I’ve had a few injections rather than surgery.
‘I got close to getting back to full fitness and then had a big setback.
‘At one point it looked like I needed an operation and that would have ruled me out for the season.
‘If I’d had that, it would have ended my season and maybe the start of next season as well.’
After a troubled campaign, the former Hull man – who signed a two-year deal last summer – is now determined to prove his worth.
He said: ‘I know next season is a big season for me.
‘I want to be part of stabilising this club and getting ready for next season.
‘We all had high hopes at the start of the season but, looking back, maybe it was unrealistic to think we could get promoted at the first attempt.
‘Perhaps some of us were a bit naive.
‘It’s easy to blame luck but I think that has played a part this season. We don’t seem to have had much.
‘Hopefully, we will all get a bit more of the rub of the green next season – myself included.’
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