YOUNG midfielder Jonathan Douglas today said a heartfelt thanks to the men who have helped to save his career after finally ending his nine-month injury nightmare.

The future looked bleak for the 20-year-old Irishman when he suffered a career-threatening knee injury during a reserve team outing against Everton last April.

But, thanks to the help and support of Rovers' medical staff, Douglas made a welcome return to action on Wednesday night in the reserves' 1-0 defeat against Manchester City at Morecambe.

And the former Brockhall Academy starlet is in no doubt about who to thank for his miraculous recovery.

"I can't say enough about the medical staff at Ewood because they've been absolutely brilliant and I owe them everything for all that they've done for me," said Douglas.

"The last nine months have been very frustrating but there's a lot of top men around here and I have to thank them all for helping me to get back.

"The doc, Phil Batty, the two physios, Dave Fevre and Paul Kelly, and Colin Lancaster, the club masseur, have all been great with me so I owe a lot to them for getting me back to where I am now.

"They've brought me back quicker than both they and I expected and I can't thank them enough for that."

After breaking into the first team last season, Douglas's career then lay in tatters when he suffered serious cartilage and ligament damage following a rash challenge by Everton's Danny Cadamarteri.

Some players have been forced to retire after sustaining similar injuries and an initial diagnosis suggested the young Irishman could be sidelined for the best part of a year.

However, thanks to months of hard work and dedication, he returned six weeks ahead of schedule on Wednesday night.

And now he's just looking forward to the prospect of playing regular football again.

"I didn't feel too bad on Wednesday," said Douglas. "I expected to feel a lot more tired than I did but in the first half I got a little knock on the knee which opened up one of the scars a little bit so that meant they had to take me off 15 minutes into the second half.

"But, hopefully, it should be alright.

"There's certainly no problems from a match fitness point of view.

"The physios have been working me hard over the last couple of months so I feel fine.

"Now I'm just looking forward to being able to play a couple of games again and, then, hopefully, I'll be fit and ready for next season."

Despite all his injury problems, Rovers still have high hopes for Douglas as he strives to re-establish himself among the senior squad once more.

Last season he showed signs of breaking through after making substitute appearances in both the Worthington and FA Cups.

However, he is realistic enough to accept that he may now have to wait until next season before his chance comes along again.

"I'm not really looking to force my way back onto the first team scene this season. If that happens, then it's a bonus," said Douglas. "I just want to try and play as many reserve team games as I can and then I'll take it from there and see what happens.

"But, for now, I just want a run of games without picking up any more injuries."

Amazingly, despite all the heartache Cadamarteri's challenge has caused, Douglas does not bear any grudge towards the Everton man at all -- even though he has never gone to the trouble of apologising for his part in the incident.

"Danny has never got in touch to apologise but I don't really blame him for the incident, it's just one of those things that happens in football," said Douglas.

"At the end of the day, it could have happened to anyone and, unfortunately, it happened to me."