Ex-Portsmouth midfielder ends 10-month injury hell after nightmare start to life away from Fratton Park at Doncaster

While at Pompey, the midfielder amassed 190 appearances and scored 18 times after emerging through the ranks of the club he supports.

Yet since signing for Rovers in June 2021, the former Priory Park School pupil has managed just 18 games during an injury-hampered stay.

Encouragingly, Close was handed a long-awaited comeback in Tuesday night’s Papa John’s Trophy trip to Lincoln.

It marked his first appearance since November 2021, when forced off at half-time in a 2-0 defeat at Burton.

A knee operation and associated rehab subsequently ruled the 26-year-old out of action for 298 days, during which Doncaster were relegated from League One.

Yet on Tuesday, he turned out for the first half of their 2-1 win at Sincil Bank, collecting a booking in the process.

Manager Gary McSheffrey told the Doncaster Free Press: ‘I thought he (Close) had a bit of bite about his game.

‘He was crisp in his passing, he got stuck in.

‘He felt fine at half-time. The plan was 45 (minutes). Had he said he wanted more we probably would have given him more, but he's been out that long he doesn’t want to risk overdoing anything.

‘I thought he was good. He was tidy.’

Close, who hails from Fratton, started out at Wimbledon Park Tigers before linking up with Pompey at under-10 level.

He was aged 18 years and 24 days when handed a first-team debut in September 2014 at Yeovil in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

It took a while for Close to establish himself, while he was loaned to Eastleigh in the second half of the 2016-17 campaign as the Blues claimed the League Two title under Paul Cook.

However, he became a regular under Kenny Jackett, totalling at least 44 appearances in three successive seasons.

In his final campaign, Close fell out of favour, before returning for the Papa John’s Trophy final in March 2021, producing an eye-catching cameo off the bench in the defeat to Salford at Wembley.

The arrival of Danny Cowley as interim head coach saw him restored to the starting XI for 10 of the final 12 matches.

Yet Cowley opted not to retain Close upon the expiry of his contract in the summer of 2021, with the midfielder instead joining Doncaster on a three-year deal.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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