Ed Langdon is focussed on an injury free 2018 and is confident a knee injury that ruled him out of 2017 is well behind him.

The forward spent the second half of 2017 on a modified program and said although the time spent on his recovery was gruelling, it was an opportunity to bond with teammates.

“I learnt a lot from it that’s for sure, and touchwood if I ever have another injury like that again I will definitely be better off for having got through it.”

Langdon credits Alex Pearce for his support during his time spent out of the game, and said the resilience the injured defender showed was inspiring.

“He’s been through a lot with the injuries he’s been through with his leg,” Langdon said.

“He’s a great role model to have in rehab, I know a lot of the boys who have spent a lot of time in rehab have looked up to him.

“It’s very easy to roll through the motions when you know you’re not playing football but he was incredibly positive for how long he was in rehab for.”

Pearce broke his leg in round nine, 2016 with the injury ruling him out of the entire 2017 season.

But the key defender has been a welcome return to the main training squad since returning in December last year and is building towards a strong return to playing in 2018 after recently signing a two-year contract extension with the club.

“In comparison to his injury mine was pretty minor, when you look at it like that it definitely puts things into perspective,” Langdon said. 

“Everyone loves him around the club, he’s a great man and a great footballer and it’s great to see him sign for another two years and I can’t wait to see him playing soon.”