Doncaster Rovers' pre-season return: New boy's absence explained, mystery player and lots of running
Doncaster Rovers' players are back at work having returned for pre-season training. Rovers players and staff reacquainted themselves on Wednesday, with the club posting images and videos from the first day back. Here's a few things we noticed:
Running - lots of it
It won't have come as a surprise to any of the Rovers players that a big part of today consisted of running - and plenty of it.
The dreaded bleep test is one that all professionals come to expect during the first few days back after their summer break. Dave Rennie, Rovers' respected head of medical and performance, cast an expert eye over the squad during the session which took place on the 3G pitches at the facility housed next to the Eco-Power Stadium.
Plenty of players showed obvious signs of being pushed to the limit - understandable after a long summer of well-earned celebrations following their title exploits last term. The next few days are expected to consist of more tests - and of course more running.
One player not present
Eagle-eyed supporters will no doubt have trawled through the near-three-minute video that the club's official channel posted on Wednesday lunchtime. And among the faces were plenty of new boys such as Brandon Hanlan, Robbie Gotts and Damola Ajayi.
But one player not present on the first day back was new centre-half Seán Grehan. The Free Press understands that the 21-year-old, who signed a three-year deal this week, is being given extra time off owing to him playing for Bohemians whose season runs through the summer. It's expected that he will link up with Rovers' squad during the training camp in Spain in the early part of next week.
Mystery man revealed
Among the many familiar faces captured hard at work, there was one player who might have gone under the radar. Some supporters were wondering who the young player was at 2mins40secs in the video.
The player in question is Aaron Cashmore, a second year scholar. The young defender is joining in training with the senior side although it's unclear for how long that arrangement is set to last.
Also present on day one were new professionals, Kasper Williams, Jacob Bryant and Sam Straughan-Brown. New first team coach Barry Richardson was also present, whilst chief executive Gavin Baldwin took a watching brief from the sidelines.