Scott Rooke says his appetite for the game is fully restored after making a stunning comeback for Workington Town at the weekend.

Rooke astonished fans by returning to action less than three months after an horrific injury in the pre-season clash with Whitehaven.

Many questioned whether the former dual-code amateur would ever lace up his boots but the determined 23-year-old had other ideas.

And 11 weeks after being stretchered off at the Recreation Ground he featured for Town in their win over North Wales Crusaders on Sunday.

"It was nerve-wracking at first," admitted Rooke. "For the last three weeks I have been getting back into training and then last week I was told I had a chance of playing.

"I had to get all of my tests done to prove I was fit to come back. I went through one on Tuesday and passed that.

"I had a run on Thursday and then had to take another test with the doctor on Saturday morning to make 100 per cent sure I was ok.

"Then once I got the go ahead it was real all of a sudden and I thought this is it."

Rooke was knocked unconscious during the Ike Southward Memorial Trophy derby with Whitehaven at the start of February.

He was transferred to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary for tests and stayed there until his release several days later.

And he admitted it had been a scary experience, as he couldn't recall the game itself.

"I didn't come around from the injury until I was in Carlisle hospital," he explained.

"The ambulance crew said I was out for all of the journey and didn't know what was going on.

"They asked me if I could remember the game but the last think I could remember was getting out of my car at the ground. I couldn't remember any of the game at all.

"So then to be told I was going to Newcastle for an MRI as I had no feeling in my legs I just didn't know what to think.

"But I am just pleased to have got through it, taking it day by day."

And he said the option of whether he would play again was in doubt for some time.

He added: "I know that the people who helped me through this wondered if I would ever play again.

"Even after playing on Sunday people asked me how I had managed to do it all.

"My dad has been behind me right through it and my family. My step-mam threw my boots in the bin and said 'you're retired, we are not going through that again'.

"But my dad said just see what happens, take it one step at a time time.

"And when I got back on the pitch he just said 'you have done all that yourself, we have just helped you along'."

Rooke had doubts of his own, that were thankfully expelled once he got back into training at Workington and began his long haul back to fitness.

"At first when the injury happened and when I came home I wondered if I was going to be the same.

"Then I had my first couple of training sessions and then got back into full training and I thought this is good, I've got my bite back for it and I knew I still had that fight in me.

"So when I was told I was actually going to play on Sunday, I just thought I am going to go out there and give it a good go.

"I was a bit 50/50 going into the game, thinking will I enjoy it or will I be ready?

"But once I got my boots on and felt the atmosphere and go back in with the lads it was like I had never been away."

Before the incident, Rooke had been impressing for Workington and he says he is just as determined now to keep improving his game.

"I played against Huddersfield in pre-season and came off the bench but I felt that I had something," he said.

"With the players we brought in, the likes of Jordan Tansey and Jamie Foster, I just knew I had to push myself more and find another level and another gear to compete.

But I have to look at this now as a clean slate and go again, it is like having my pre-season all over again.

"And I have had some nice messages off people after Sunday saying that it was like I had never been missing and that I looked sharp and had done well."

He added: "Fitness wise I am still working on it, I was cramping up a bit with 15/20 minutes to go but I ploughed through it.

"When I was running with the ball and going into tackles I felt good. I just took it from there and the more ball I got, the more confident and comfortable I felt."

Rooke also praised Workington and the support he got from the club and his team-mates.

And he says now all he wants is another chance to shine and try and make a place in the side his own.

"The club and all the lads have been great, they have been nothing but patient and I am just thankful that they have given me a chance to show what I can do," said Rooke.

"A lot of the directors came to visit me in Newcastle and the Rugby League Benevolent Fund were a fantastic help and support.

"I wanted to prove I haven't changed and I am still the person who wants to help the squad out.

"It was nice to get my first game in and my first league game. Now I want to take that form into this week and hopefully do a job against Oldham."