Gillingham striker Oli Hawkins on overcoming his plantar fasciitis injury and returning to League 2 action – Accrington up next

Gillingham striker Oli Hawkins questioned whether he would play again at one stage as he battled to overcome an injury that just wouldn’t go away.

Hawkins’ first appearance of the campaign came at home against Bradford City in mid-December after the 31-year-old finally put aside a heel injury that had been troubling him since the second day of pre-season.

It’s been a long road back for the striker following a plantar fasciitis diagnosis and ahead of this Saturday’s game at Accrington, he spoke to the press for the first time about the injury and his relief at finally playing again.

“It was the strangest thing I’ve ever gone through in my football career,” he said. “It was a tough ride, really tough.

“I tried to train and play, but that just made it worse, I was damaging it even more.

“There were times when I couldn’t see how I was going to play again, and even if I played I wouldn’t be 100%.

“It got to a stage after two or three months where I had damaged it so much I had to properly sit out.

“I had always tried to train, tried to do something on it, I never wanted to stop or rest, but unfortunately doing that damaged it so much I had to be told to stop, completely off my foot for six weeks, then rebuild.

“Hopefully I have got to a stage where I can manage it. It’s not 100%, it’s an injury that can stick with you for years, it can go tomorrow, you never know. At the moment I am getting through it and not thinking about it. Hopefully I can move on from it and enjoy the second half of the season.”

Hawkins described the feeling as a tearing sensation in his heel. He could walk, but couldn’t run, and it had been getting worse since the second day of pre-season training.

He said: “There is no guarantee of how I did it, it