Rovers striker Ryan Brunt is targeting a brighter future as he nears the end of his long road back to recovery. Brunt returned to action in friendly games at Yeovil Town and Gloucester City last week following nine months sidelined by a knee complaint. Brunt said: "I'm gradually starting to ease myself back into the games and things are progressing well for me at the moment. I have to make sure I manage my body carefully after such a long time out and Darrell Clarke and Phil Kite have been very understanding about that because it would be stupid for me to rush headlong back into things. It has been a long road back and the way things turned out last season made it worse. It was very frustrating to have to watch everything unfold and not be able to get out on the pitch to make some contribution." Brunt's commitment to overcoming the problem continued throughout the summer when he put his hand in his own pocket to spend three weeks working with world-renowned sports reconditioning and athletic development coach Bill Knowles in Philadelphia, United States. Brunt said: "It was a very worthwhile experience. The guy I went to see has worked with athletes like Tiger Woods and Jonny Wilkinson and I was surprised how much I learned for the few weeks I was out there. He showed me a lot of different techniques to help me manage the problem, which conflict with everything I had been taught since I started playing football as an eight-year-old."
He still worries me. I can't see us getting a full season out of him, great player just always injured! This club seems to have a habit of signing these sorts of players.
I honestly think if Brunt stays fit he will become first choice Forward with white as the fox in the box striker.
