Midfielder Luke Freeman says he hasn’t yet thought about his future beyond the end of the season - with his focus very much on finding form for Nottingham Forest.
The 28-year-old is on loan at the City Ground from Sheffield United, with the Reds holding an option to make his move permanent in the summer.
It has been something of a stop-start campaign for Freeman, however, and one hampered by injury.
He is just delighted to be back playing regularly and feels he is beginning to show what he can do.
“I’m not too sure,” Freeman said, when asked about his future once his loan ends.
“I’m just happy to be back fit.
“I want to play as many games as I can between now and the end of the season, and just see where it takes me.”
He added: “I feel like I’ve shown really good glimpses of where I can be at, although still nowhere near exactly where I want to be - but you’re not going to be when you’ve been out for two or three months.
“I certainly feel like I’m finding my feet and am enjoying being back.
“You speak to any player and they’ll say it’s important to have a run of games. You get the chance to find your feet.
“It can sometimes be very difficult when you’re in and out of the team.
“To get a consistent run of games is massively key for any player. It lets you build on confidence, it lets you start getting your match sharpness, then before you know it, after four, five or six games, you feel like you’re back to your old self.”
Freeman made his comeback in January, following a couple of months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a hernia problem.
But that operation was actually required to correct a previous one which had left him playing through the pain when he first joined Forest.
“It’s been a tough one to take, mentally and physically,” he said. “It just affects your confidence.
“It’s something I’ve not really been used to. It’s the only injury I’ve ever had in my career.
“I had the operation and still had recurring problems. Not a lot was coming up on scans, so I thought I was going crazy! I was thinking, ‘I’m still feeling stuff that I shouldn’t be feeling’ but nothing was coming up on the scans.
“Even when I was playing regularly at the start of the season, it was a lot of painkillers to try to numb the pain for an hour and a half, then I couldn’t walk for two days afterwards!
“It was a vicious cycle. You’d get yourself just about fit for a game on a Saturday, then be struggling all week and then just about fit for the following game.
“It was a difficult period.”
Freeman has gone on to feature regularly since his return, taking his total number of appearances so far in the Garibaldi to 18.
“It’s a relief to get it resolved and get back to just concentrating on football, which is the most important thing,” he said.
“I’m really happy to be back and happy it’s over with.
“It’s still a bit of a gradual process. When you’ve had that much time out, you’re not always going to come back and hit the ground running as best as you’d like to.
“But I’m happy with my performances and it’s generally been good for me.
“It’s been an easy transition going from the physio staff to back in with the lads.”
