Sam Nicholson is “delighted” to have scored his first goal for Bristol Rovers, following his battle to get back to full fitness, after a calf injury he sustained against Sunderland in mid-September.
The Scotsman scored in the early stages of Saturday’s game against Rochdale, netting after just nine minutes of the contest at Spotland.
And Nicholson has spoken of his relief after a long road to recovery and his delight at getting on the scoresheet for the Gas.
He said: “It has been tough getting up to fitness with that blip with injury. I am delighted, hopefully we can kick on from here!”
“I have kind of been a bit unlucky with a couple of injuries, the gaffer and the physios have been really patient with me, letting me get up to a level of fitness. They told me to wait my time and showed faith in me to play.
“The players and coaching staff were saying before the game, if you get a chance, run at them, luckily it's opened up, and I've gotten on the score sheet.”
The 25-year-old signed for the Gas in the Summer, after completing a transfer from Colorado Rapids in the MLS.
And Nicholson has now ended his wait to find the net for the first time in a Rovers shirt, and shared his thoughts on the goal, following his injury.
“It is a long time coming, I have had a couple games where I have come on and I should have scored, but I am getting up to fitness, I am getting up to sharpness, and I am happy with that," he said.
“I think the injury against Sunderland set me back a little bit, I have had to play a bit of catch up. Like I said, the gaffer and the physios, everybody has been so good with getting me up to fitness, and to feel that I may be ready to start.”
It was a hard-fought draw away from home for Garner's men on Saturday as Rovers continued their impressive recent run of results on the road.
And Nicholson reflected on Rovers' performance in the match, adding that he felt there were positives to take.
"We started well, but we obviously had that little blip where they scored," he said.
"At half time we certainly needed to regroup and in the second half we came out and controlled the game. There were a couple more opportunities for us to get the winner, but that is football, away games are tough, we will take the point."
