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Doncaster Rovers: Metatarsal injury leaves Lockwood keen to impress
Robbed of over six weeks of the season with a broken metatarsal, Adam Lockwood has good reason to be chomping at the bit over a Doncaster Rovers return.
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And while the defender is eager to make up for lost time, that's just the half of it, because he is also desperate to impress boss Sean O'Driscoll and earn a new contract at the club he's served for nearly three-and-a-half years.
Lockwood, signed from Yeovil Town in July 2006, has already clocked up nearly 150 appearances for Rovers though only 12 have come this season
owing to the broken foot he suffered against Swansea in September.
Now nearing a full recovery, the 28-year-old is eager to once again pull on a red and white shirt and renew his recognised place as an automatic starter when fit.
For all his consistency, Lockwood's contract expires next summer and the Wakefield-born footballer would dearly love to see that change.
"Obviously, it's an important time for me – as it is for a lot of footballers," Lockwood told Yorkshire Sport.
"I'm just looking to improve myself as a player and hopefully try and progress.
"I don't know what's happening with where I am and things because I am out contract at the end of the season so obviously I will just have to wait and see now and see what happens.
"I have to try and keep working hard and hopefully impress the boss so that Doncaster want to keep me."
On his September setback, he added: "It's been a little bit
frustrating, which it is for any footballer.
"But it's part and parcel of football, there's nothing you can do and you've just got to deal with it.
"It will be good to get back but until then you can't do much about it."
Lockwood had started every single one of Doncaster's games this term – netting twice – but the foot problem picked up against Swansea has already cost him the best part of two months.
The centre-back admits the injury was a lot worse than first feared.
"It was just a broken metatarsal which meant I broke my foot in two bones," he said. "That's it really.
"I was playing in the first half against Swansea but at the time I didn't really know that I'd done that much damage.
"I'm just taking each day as it comes now.
"I hope I'm not too far away from being back and each day I am just trying to progress and get back fit as soon as possible.
"Probably, touch wood anyway, it's the worst injury I've had.
"I just hope it's fairly simple and straightforward and I can get back sooner rather than later."
Lockwood's return is imminent, the 6ft star counting down the days to a permanent return to the side whom he left Huish Park for three years ago.
The defender spent five years in the west country after moving from Reading. The Royals were his first club as a professional after being released as a youth player at Leeds United, with Elland Road just over 12 miles from his birthplace.
The move to Doncaster saw Lockwood coming home to Yorkshire and the Rovers ace is now back living in Wakefield, admitting his current club's location was a big bonus of the move.
However, only an added bonus he stresses, the centre-half adamant he joined the Keepmoat club first and foremost to further his career.
"I am living in Wakefield so I am back in my hometown and it was nice to be back but this was a career move for me as well," he said.
"Career-wise as well I am hoping it works well in terms of achieving things.
"All you are trying to do is push on all of the time and try to progress in this league, trying to do better with Doncaster.
"As a team we are always trying to improve and we are never happy with where we are at any stage really."
Rovers currently sit in the wrong end of the Championship table but, if Lockwood has his way, Doncaster will soon have more teams below them than above.
The Yorkshireman was a key member of the squad that helped Doncaster
out of League One but merely safeguarding the club's new-found Championship status is not his way of thinking.
"It's a good club and we have come a long way in a short space of time," he reflected.
"People enjoy watching us play, so we are just trying to get better all the time really.
"We are just trying to improve and if we can do that then we'll be all right."
If he carries on where he left off in September it's highly likely that Lockwood will be all right too.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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