'I've had a nightmare, now I feel great' - ever-present Clark Robertson on how Portsmouth masterplan has transformed him after Rotherham woes

An ever-present, if you will.

Certainly it bodes well for the campaign ahead following an injury-blighted 16 months which consisted of twice breaking his foot, a hamstring problem and coronavirus.

Admittedly, these are tentative first steps into an individualised fitness programme designed to keep the 27-year-old on the pitch.

Danny Cowley enlisted the help of highly-regarded Brentwood-based physio Ross Poynton to find a way of minimalising Robertson’s injury absences.

So far, so good.

The Scot told The News: ‘In the last 16 months or so, I’ve a stress fracture in my foot, then I broke it properly, then I picked up a few little niggles here and there. Then I got Covid.

‘It has been a bit of a nightmare to be honest with you, but now I feel strong. Long may it continue.

‘There will be tweaks here and there in my training programme that will look after my body to get the best out of me on a Saturday, which is the most important thing.

‘Everything ticked the boxes at Pompey, what they are going to do for me, what they are going to do to try to get me onto the pitch every weekend. I was really impressed with the plans they have in place for me.

‘Ross (Poynton) did my second medical when I joined Pompey, it was very thorough.

‘When I first spoke to the manager over the phone he told me how Ross is really good at what he does, he’s a specialist, and when we met I was really impressed.

‘The first medical was with Bobby (Bacic), which was a bit of range of motion and some in the gym – then I went to Brentwood.

‘Ross’ medical was more thorough, to be fair. He checked out all my body, taking me onto a treadmill to analyse how I move and if any corrections were needed.

‘I also did countermovement jumps, such as hopping on one leg, just seeing how my body functions.

‘Then you can put a gym programme together so those things can be corrected to make me stronger, then hopefully I won’t pick up these injuries here and there.

‘What Ross identified were a few corrections required, which is now in my gym programme.’

Robertson suffered a stress fracture in his foot in January 2020, which healed naturally.

However, in October 2020, it recurred, requiring a pin and plate to be inserted into a metatarsal.

Upon his return, he suffered a hamstring problem, while was later absent for three matches through Covid.

Robertson added: ‘I’ve had a lot of bad luck.

‘A fresh start was much needed, I had to clear my head, clear my mind and get back to enjoying football.

‘A lot of people don't see behind the scenes when you are injured, it can be a lonely place in the gym every day, seeing the boys out training.

‘It can be horrible at times, but I am mentally strong, I got through it, and I’m just glad I’ve managed to get an opportunity like this with a big club.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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