BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder David Thompson has thanked top German doctor Hans Muller-Wolfhart for helping to put his career back on track.

Thompson played his first competitive game in five months when he made a successful comeback in the reserves earlier this week.

And now the former Liverpool star hopes his injury nightmares are a thing of the past after Muller-Wolfhart - the man credited with reviving the careers of Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen - appears to have found a cure for his persistent knee problems.

Thompson has been plagued by injury set-backs since he joined Rovers from Coventry in a £1.5 million deal three years ago.

Three separate bouts of surgery failed to provide a permanent solution to those problems.

But now the 28-year-old can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to a muscle strengthening programme which was recommended by Muller-Wolfhart following a consultation in Munich earlier this summer.

"I had a problem with a lack of strength in my knee so there was nothing to hold it up and I was just banging the joints together," explained Thompson.

"But I then went to see Muller-Wolfhart, who affected all the muscles and loosened them all up, and that has allowed the good muscle to start growing again.

"He gave me a strengthening programme to do, which I've since been hammering.

"Every morning before training I now do weights for 45 minutes on my knee to make sure it stays strong and that's something I've got to maintain for the rest of my career.

"But, touch wood, it seems to be working and my leg now feels stronger than it has ever done."

Frustrated by his lack of progress, Thompson decided to see Muller-Wolfhart while he was away with Rovers on their pre-season tour in Germany and it's turned out to be one of the best decisions he ever made.

He said: "We were out in Germany and I was chatting with the physio on one of those days when I was feeling a bit low.

"He just said 'why don't you go and see Muller-Wolfhart and see what he says?', so I went along and I was delighted with what he said about the muscle because I probably would have persisted with what I was doing if I hadn't."

Now Thompson has set his sights on winning his place back in the first team, but, unlike some of his previous comeback attempts, he won't return until he's absolutely ready.

He added: "I've spoken to the gaffer about it and I know I've got to be 100 per cent fit before I come back, otherwise I'll just be an average player.

"I wouldn't be in a position to put enough pressure on the boys in the team and that's something I wouldn't be happy about.

"When I was out on the pitch last season, it was probably the most disappointing season I've ever had in terms of my goals and assists, which is a big part of my game.

"I was trying hard enough but I just wasn't fit enough or sharp enough to make the impact I wanted."