Josh Coburn endured a frustrating wait before his Bristol Rovers bow on Tuesday, but with 45 minutes in his legs he has a clear message for his manager: "I'm ready."
The 19-year-old had to wait more than a month for his Gas debut after joining from Middlesbrough on a season-long loan on deadline day. He suffered a knee injury on the opening day of the season against West Bromwich Albion and completed a nine-week recovery plan at Boro's Rockliffe Park base.
The striker finally got the green light to move down south this week and he played as a second-half substitute in the 2-0 EFL Trophy win over Crystal Palace under-21s at the Mem. The 6ft 3in forward's first appearance was one of several positives for manager Joey Barton on a night when the result was a secondary concern.
"I was just happy to get a runout and help the team get a win as well," Coburn said. "I felt good and that’s the main thing. I thought the lads were professional and got the job done against a good 23s side, so it’s positive.
"I’ve trained for a week and then I came down here. I played in an in-house game with Middlesbrough, but it’s nothing like being back out there so I was really happy to be out there. I’m pushing and trying to get my fitness up as quickly as possible and hopefully, I can get as many starts as possible and as many goals as possible as well.
"I feel really good. I feel a lot better than I thought I was going to, to be fair, so I feel like I’m ready whenever the gaffer says. If I come on as a sub, I’ve got to make an impact and show the gaffer and the fans what I can do. I have confidence in myself to score at any level and hopefully, I can do that for Rovers."
Coburn is a highly-rated prospect on Teesside, with five goals already to his name in the Championship. Had he not been injured at the time his loan was sanctioned, Rovers surely would have faced stiff competition for his signature.
But it was Barton's willingness to take Coburn to BS7 despite knowing he would not be available for several weeks, coupled with the Rovers boss' record in the loan market – Elliot Anderson and Connor Taylor among his recent successes – that convinced the teenager Rovers was the right club for him this season.
"I spoke to the gaffer on a Zoom call and he set out his strategy and what it was going to be like," he explained. "It ticked all the boxes, really, and coming down here and meeting the lads, they’re all really sounds so it’s been really good.
"He showed me how many loans have worked out, how many first loans he’s had from younger players. That helped me make my decision because gaffers can say they play young lads, but do they actually do that? For the gaffer to say that, it’s really promising.
"Getting games is the main thing, and getting starts, which I wasn’t getting at Middlesbrough, so I feel like coming down here and trying to get as many starts as possible and hopefully kick on from there.
"I had an LCL (lateral collateral ligament) tear and I was out for nine weeks. It’s been frustrating, but the whole plan was for me to go out on loan so I was just happy the gaffer was willing to take me, even with my injury, which just shows how much confidence he has in me to help the team."
Nonetheless, it has been a difficult period for Coburn. The fact he is not content to be a fringe player at Middlesbrough at this stage in his career is a statement of his desire, so keeping tabs on Rovers' fortunes from afar has been testing.
That frustration was compounded by being informed on Friday that plans to play in a Premier League 2 game for Boro against Newcastle United had to be aborted a few hours before kick-off due to regulations in his loan agreement, but that has been quickly forgotten and he is pleased to be back up and running.
"It was really frustrating. I was following the results and everything and, obviously, we haven’t had the best run. I just wanted to get down here and help the team as much as possible.
"I got a call three or four hours before kick-off and it was not what I needed, but it was really good to get a runout today and it was a blessing in disguise that we had this cup to get minutes in my legs.
"I think it was a good decision just to have that week with Middlesbrough, train fully, get that bit of sharpness because coming down here you want to make an impact straight away. You don’t want to be half-hearted and just seeing how it is, so I think we took every precaution we could and it’s paid off."
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