Joey Barton was delighted to reveal Bristol Rovers utility player Josh Grant has reached a significant milestone this week in his return from double knee surgery, stepping back on the training pitch for the first time in seven months.
The 24-year-old, who can play across the defence and midfield and was a member of the team that won promotion from League Two last season, has played just once for the Gas this season – a brief substitute appearance at Burton Albion in August – before being shut down to have operations on both knees to address longstanding issues with tendinitis.
Those struggles have hampered Grant throughout his time with the Gas, who he joined from Chelsea in 2020, much to the frustration of his manager, who rates him very highly in a variety of roles and Barton is happy to see him near the end of a brutal and "demoralising" road to recovery.
