Coventry City's centre back Richard Wood has put last season's injury woes behind him and is battling to regain full fitness in order to win a full time starting place in the team.
Wood dropped down the pecking order last season, then dropped out altogether when he suffered a knee injury at Reading, but he returned two to training two weeks earlier than his team mates to get a head start.
Wood made just 12 starts for Coventry last season, but now he wants to prove to Andy Thorn he is worthy of a place in the starting eleven.
Withe the departure of Martin Cranie and James McPake and the likely departure of Richard Keogh, Wood would appear to have moved up the pecking order by default, by the recruitment of Kevin Malaga adds competition for places.
Coventry City are running the eye over another French central defender William Edjenguele and if he joined the club there will be even more competition for places.
The 27 year old told the CT, “I want to be on the team-sheet at Yeovil and I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure I give myself the best chance of doing that.
“I got a bang on my knee in the Reading game back on February 11. It was an impact injury when I went in for a challenge with Jimmy Kebe and it took a chunk out of the cartilage underneath my kneecap.
“I had an op to repair and stabilise it and it was a bit more complicated than I had hoped so it has taken longer, so I am just glad to have got my first 45 minutes of competitive football on Saturday.
“I came in a couple of weeks before the other lads started back on July 1 to get as fit as I could and I have trained every day since then and I am slowly getting there.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen with the triallist William Edjenguele, but he looks good as does Kevin Malaga.They are both big, strong units so it provides good competition for me and that’s what every team and every player needs. I think it helps to spur each other on.
“I was really disappointed with my season last year when I didn’t play enough so I really want to nail down my position in the side this year. All I can do is keep training hard and working hard and hope that the manager picks me.
“We’ll just have to see what happens but I always give 100 per cent in training and I want that position and I want to play every week.”
Wood is in the squad that is in Scotland for a three game pre season program. The first game is tonight at Brora Rangers.