Devante Rodney says he is feeling grateful to be back and out on the pitch and to have the opportunity to finish the season strongly.
The striker has missed the majority of the season through illness and injury, but scored his first goal of the season on Saturday, to earn a 2-2 draw at league leaders Chesterfield.
Speaking after the game, Rodney said: “I was buzzing. Before the game, I was manifesting me coming in and scoring my first goal of the season.
“It’s been unfortunate, everything that’s happened to me this season, but I’m grateful that I’ve got an opportunity now.
“I feel good, I feel healthy, and hopefully I can score a lot more goals to help the team.”
His goal rounded off a good Dale move.
“We moved it well. Finn [Armstrong] gets it at the byline and I saw Kairo [Mitchell] darted across his man.
“So, my job then is to get across to the penalty spot and Finn has pulled it back nicely. I took a touch and whipped it near post, and to be fair the goalkeeper got a touch on it, but he couldn’t keep it out.
“We knew it would be difficult [coming to Chesterfield] – they haven’t been beaten at home. We had to dig in at times.
“We created chances and on another day we could nick it. I had a chance where I tried to dink it over the goalkeeper, Kairo has had a couple of half chances, and on another day we score more goals.”
It was Rodney’s first 90 minutes since the opening day of the season, and his first start since December.
“After 85 minutes I was blowing! Ethan [Ebanks-Landell] was telling me to run and I couldn’t!
“It’s a credit to the gaffer, sports science and medical guys that in my eight weeks off I was doing double, triple sessions so that when I came back, I could hit the ground running.
“I still need match fitness and sharpness, which will come in the next couple of games. We’ve got to recover, do the right things, and move on to the games that are coming up.”
