‘I’m In The Best Shape That I Could Be’

After an arduous and, at times, frustrating journey to recover from a broken leg, a naturally delighted George Thorne says he is in the best shape that he could be going into pre-season.

After more than a year out on the sidelines, the midfielder confirmed to supporters, via his Twitter account and a RamsTV interview, that he was ‘good to go’ for when the Rams reported back for duty earlier this week.

The 24-year-old, who has been working throughout the summer to get himself in prime condition, completed all of the various fitness tests on Wednesday and returned to full training for the first time since May 2016 on Thursday.

Images of him with a ball at his feet was a sight that struck a chord with Derby supporters across the club’s digital channels.

That said, though, there was no-one who was happier than the man himself to trade the walls of the gym and physio rooms for the training pitches.

Thorne told RamsTV: “It’s good to be involved in everything again.

“I’ve been working very hard over the off-season and towards the back of last season on my fitness stuff and I feel like I am in the best shape that I could be going into pre-season.

“I feel very good. Now, though, it is a matter of getting back into football and I am looking forward to what is to come.

“I had a sticky first six months with the injury. There were a few setbacks and a few things that didn’t go right, but I knew, at some stage, that this would come. I’m delighted to be where I am now.”

Like the rest of his team mates, Thorne has been thrown into the deep end of what Gary Rowett has got planned for his squad over pre-season.

After three days of intense double sessions at the Training Centre in partnership with the University of Derby, the Rams will step up their workload with a week-long training camp in Tenerife after flying out today.

Thorne is predicting that the seven-day stay in the Canary Islands will be the players’ ‘toughest week’ of their pre-season campaign, but Thorne is looking forward to the challenge it poses.

He added: “I’m accustomed to the hard work, especially with the rehab that I had, but I worked very hard over the off-season to make sure that I was in a position to kick on. That’s where I am at now.

“We have got straight back into it since starting back. I enjoyed the first day; that’s the first day of pre-season I have had where I have come back and it’s raining, but by the second one, it was pretty much straight back to business.

“It was real hard work, but it’s going really well. It will be good to go out to Tenerife too and spend a week together.

“That will probably be our toughest week, especially with the heat, but I am looking forward to it.”