DAVID Thompson is hoping his injury nightmare is now firmly behind him after he made an impressive return to action last night.

The Blackburn Rovers midfielder made his first competitive appearance in five months when he turned out for the reserves in their 2-0 win against West Brom.

That was Thompson's first taste of action since the final day of last season, and the 28-year-old looked sharp, even contributing an assist, before he was taken off in the 69th minute by manager Glyn Hodges.

The former Liverpool star, who underwent knee and ankle operations in the summer, said: "I felt alright. I've only been training for the last two or three weeks, but I enjoyed it and it was good to put a kit on again and get 70 minutes under my belt.

"The main thing is I didn't have any problems with my ankle or my knee.

"I know I'm still well short of what's required to be in the first team but, with a couple more games and some hard work in training, hopefully I can start putting some pressure on the boys in the team.

"But they are playing well at the moment so it's going to be a tough job."

In the past, Thompson has perhaps been guilty of trying to rush back too soon in his desperation to get back into the first team.

This time, however, he's prepared to take his time so he doesn't make the same mistake again.

"I've maybe rushed back too quickly in the past," he admitted.

"You have a programme that you have to try and maintain, even when you're back in training and playing games, and I've probably been guilty of neglecting it in the past.

"At the end of the day, I'm a footballer and I just want to be playing football, not spending all my time in the gym.

"But I've got my head around it now and I know all that has still got to be done.

"And as long as I can keep the strength in my legs then Ishouldn't have any problems with my knee."

Thompson has shown admirable courage to battle back from all his injury problems during the last three seasons, but he admits his latest lay-off has been the toughest yet.

There was never a point, though, when he got so low that he considered walking away from the game altogether.

"This one has probably been the toughest one, to be honest," added Thompson.

"I've had five or six spells out in the last couple of years, which is an awful lot for a footballer to go through, but you just have to get on with it because it's part and parcel of football.

"It is difficult to deal with, but what can you do?

"I've never quit anything in my life and I'm not about to start now.

"Someone would probably have to chop my legs off before it got to that stage.

"If I was in agony and making a show of myself then I'd probably think about it, but, to be honest with you, it has never crossed my mind."