Alfie Doughty is looking to put injury woes behind him and show the Luton Town faithful what he is capable of.
After getting a glimpse of the 22-year-old in pre-season and following two starts in a Luton shirt in the Sky Bet Championship, Doughty wants to make a real impact on the team going forward.
“It has been a bit of a frustrating start.” The former Stoke City man admitted during his interview with the local press. “Pre-season was going so well and then two days before the start of the season, I pull up with a hamstring injury. You can’t help it but I’m back now and I’m very happy.
“If it was going to happen (injury), it would have been better at the start of pre-season but it’s fine now and it’s good to be back playing.
“I did have six weeks of pre-season with the boys and it did help. It’s probably more to do with the fans, they watched a bit of me, but it wasn’t anywhere near what I can actually produce."
Suffering a reoccurring hamstring injury was far from ideal for the pacey winger, who had impressed in his early matches upon joining the club this summer. But with the full support of the physio staff at Luton Town, Doughty has since played a part in two Championship matches.
“Luckily the physio team just helped me out with it and now it feels back to normality. That is why we took a bit more time than it would have just to make sure it was ready, because of how quick I am, sometimes I’m more prone to getting injuries than any other.
“I have just played 70 minutes against Norwich and then 90 against Watford, so it seems to be okay.
“You always train as hard as you can no matter what. The boys were doing really well so you just have to do what you can in training and luckily I got my chance against Norwich.”
Support from manager Nathan Jones and his teammates has also provided the number 45 with a big boost and now he intents to give repay the faith shown in him.
"If a manager wants to sign you it is always a positive. They see something in you and I appreciate it. he has proved everything he said to me really, he believes in me so I just have to give that trust back now.
“The group is quality. There is a real togetherness in this group and I think you can tell by the performances and the games we have played, how well we perform as a team. There are no individuals, it’s team collectiveness.
“Personally any minutes I get at the moment, it feels like being a footballer again. I know I’ve been suffering from injuries for a while now and it is good to know I can still play 90 minutes and the legs are still there after dealing with hamstring injuries. It’s a positive to take but you can’t focus on yourself too much sometimes.”