Luke Williams has spoken for the first time about the trauma of missing the whole of last season through injury but insisted it's all behind him as he plans to come back with a bang in 2019/20.
The talented attacker pledged his future to the Club on Wednesday when he signed a new contract and now he is counting down the days until he can finally pull on a Pools shirt.
After joining the Club at the end of August, Williams suffered a knee injury in training which required two operations and ruled him out of the entire campaign.
However, guided by the Club’s medical staff, the 25-year-old is now back to fitness, feeling better than ever and determined to put the ordeal of the last nine months behind him.
“It’s been horrendous, easily the worst period I have experienced as a player and it’s not something I would wish on anyone,” said Williams.
“The way things went, I had so many times when I was told I would be back and then I suffered another setback and that just made it ten times harder.
“I think if you know you’re out for a set amount of time then you can get your head around it but to have to keep picking yourself up to go again that many times was demanding but it had to be done.
“Perhaps certain things could have been prevented but it’s the way it’s gone and I can only thank the Club and the fans who have been patient and understanding.
“I can totally understand the fans who are frustrated because I am frustrated myself – it’s been a hard year but, touch wood, it’s behind me now and I am ready to get going in pre-season.”
Dedicated to recovering his sharpness, Williams has put his summer plans on hold to spend more time at the Club’s Peterlee training base since the end of last season.
Now he’s starting to see the rewards for that labour and he’s thankful to all the staff who have stood by him and helped him on his route back to full fitness.
“I am feeling good, fit and ready to go really.
“I have worked hard and been to the training ground pretty much every day over the summer because I want to make sure I’m right, and I am raring to go now.
“Jamesy (physio, James Ross), Sukhy (Youth physio Sukhraj Dhillon) and Poz (Kit Man, Nathan Porritt) have all been with me every day helping me along the way.
“Sukhy and Poz have literally done every exercise and every rep with me and that’s made coming in to do the work a lot easier because it can be hard doing the training on your own.
“My knee is feeling as good as it has. I am doing plenty of good work with Jon Whitney and the new Physio, Callum (Davidson) has also come in with a few new ideas too so it’s all going well.
“The aim now is to get a good pre-season under my belt, that’s all I am missing so once I get that done I know I will be flying.”
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