Raphael Rossi-Branco can’t wait to return to competitive action for Swindon Town after resuming full training on Monday.
The towering defender has yet to feature for the Robins this season after sustaining an injury during pre-season.
However, after undergoing an extensive recovery period, the 26-year-old is now another step closer to getting his 2016/17 campaign underway.
“I’m delighted to be back in full training now. It has been a hard time for me, especially because I had surgery in the summer,” Branco told swindontownfc.co.uk.
“I sacrificed my summer to get fit, I came back in pre-season, I was feeling very, very good but then I suffered an injury in the game against Swansea.
“But that happens and I couldn’t do anything about it. I had another month out but I don’t want to think about what has happened, I just want to think about the future now.
“I’m back now, I’m feeling very good, I’m feeling fit and I’m very happy to be back in training.”
Branco is poised to get some minutes under his belt on Monday 5th September when Town take on Royal Wootton Bassett Town in a friendly (7.30pm Kick-Off) – a game the defender is relishing.
“It will be very good for my fitness. I’ve been training for a week and a half and I’ve been to St. George’s Park as well to try and get some fitness,” he continued.
“It will be very important because training is different to a game and it will be important for me to come back and be much more fitter.”
Finally, Branco has been impressed by the caliber of players that have arrived at SN1 throughout the course of the summer, whilst he also gave his thoughts on Town’s start to the season.
“The lads have really worked hard and they have been outstanding the last few games,” added the defender.
“We’ve got a good squad now, a competitive squad, and we can go as far as we want to.
“It has been very good so far, especially against Gillingham where we played without a striker. Everyone was committed and this is the spirit we’ve got to have in the league.
“That game will be on our minds for the rest of the season and if we play 90% or 80% of the way we played against Gillingham, then we are going to get to where we want to.
“We’ve got another tough game on Saturday, another away game, and we need to start the game really well and keep the ball like all the other games.
“We’ve got three players away on international duty but the good thing is we’ve got a good squad, so we’ve got enough players to replace them and we’ll be going all the way to Peterborough to try and win the game.”
