Blackburn Rovers defender Scott Wharton is hoping for a fresh start after missing the entirety of last season with an ACL injury.
The 27-year-old is approaching 10 years as a professional at Ewood Park, having risen through the ranks to make his debut in 2016. Having spent much of his early career learning his graft with various loan moves across the EFL, he finally nailed down regular first team action for his boyhood club during the 2021/22 campaign.
The centre-back enjoyed his most time on the pitch under Jon Dahl Tomasson and was on course to match his most Championship appearances in a single season for Blackburn in 2023/24. However, disaster struck against Sheffield Wednesday in late April, ruling him out of the final two games of the season.
Wharton Keen To Impress
Wharton had to watch from the sidelines last season as his team launched an unlikely play-off bid, ultimately falling on the final day. The ex-Lincoln City loanee is now back in full training and hoping to impress head coach Valerien Ismael, who he is yet to feature under.
Speaking to official club media, he admitted it was nice to rejoin the first time for the first day of pre-season:
“We’ve had six weeks off and it’s been nice to see the boys again.
“We’ve had a bit of testing in the gym and a fitness test as well, so it’s good to be back and we’re looking forward to the next six weeks of pre-season.
“Being out all of last season, I wanted to come back ready to go and strong. I can push on now and it’s great to be joining back in with the boys.
“It was a little bit weird, even doing the fitness test, to be back with the team rather than just running with the physios.
“It’s something I’ve been waiting for for over a year now, it’s been a long time, and the positive now is that I’ll have a full pre-season that I’ll massively benefit from.
“It feels like a real fresh start for me because I’ve not trained and the manager hasn’t seen me. I want to impress and perform as well as I can.”
Writer’s View
This past 12 months has been the toughest of Wharton’s career to date and he will be keen to get on the pitch during pre-season. It’s always difficult recovering from such a long injury and he will have to be nurtured back into match fitness, having not played for 14 months. If he can return to anywhere near his best, he will be a valuable squad option for Valerien Ismael next season, especially because he has been around the club for so long. This could be invaluable for the younger members of the squad and new arrivals to learn from.