Roberts says Grimsby brace was perfect tonic after '˜tough' start at Crawley Town

The attacking midfielder has notched three times in three games since playing just two hours of football in Reds’ first 19 games after picking up an injury in the second game of the campaign.

The 22-year-old injured his toe in their EFL Trophy exit to Wolves back in August after an impressive pre-season showing from the former Inverness Caledonian Thistle man.

His spell on the sidelines rolled into September, but after coming off the bench against Luton, a subsequent scan revealed he had a hairline fracture in a toe.

Roberts returned to the bench in November and has now made three consecutive starts, scoring three times as he looks to make up for lost time.

He said: “It’s been tough especially with my injury coming in pre-season.

“You want to kick on from the start of the season, but I had a minor blip.

“Hopefully that is done now. I feel fine, fit and healthy so it is down to me now to keep on top of that, working hard in training and when I do get out there, do what I have shown against Grimsby.

“You don’t want to be in the gym injured, but it is part of football. The work I do off the pitch is for me to take out there on days like this.

“I’ve scored two goals and the team has played well, that’s what we take from it.

“I am not match-fit yet, but I will carry on building on it and hopefully my sharpness will improve and I’ll be able to play 90 minutes.”

Last month Roberts said that he and Josh Payne – who also started his first game back from injury on Saturday – had been keeping each other going in the gym.

He added: “I am happy for him. He has got through 90 minutes and I thought he showed a different style of play and gave us a different option. That is always a good thing for the manager to have.

“We have a strong bench and strong squad, so if there are any injuries, people can come in to do a job.

“As you saw, Josh Yorwerth was brilliant, Payney was brilliant and I thought that ran straight through the team. Everyone did well and gave 100 per cent.”

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