#PLStories- David Brooks hopes to make impact during Premier League run-in for Cherries #AFCB

Brooks stepped up his bid to return to full fitness with a 45-minute run-out for the club’s development squad on Tuesday night. The 25-year-old shone with a hat-trick as well as an assist as Cherries beat an experienced Portsmouth side 5-2 at Vitality Stadium to book their spot in the Hampshire Senior Cup semi-finals. Brooks made his long-awaited return for the first-team on Saturday, coming off the bench for the final 11 minutes of the 3-0 Premier League defeat at Aston Villa. It was the Wales international’s first competitive outing for the club since being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in October 2021. He announced he was cancer-free in May 2022 and has been working his way back ever since, set back by a hamstring injury and illness along the way. COMMENT: Brooks offers reminder of his quality with hat-trick against Portsmouth And while the Hampshire Senior Cup is not the end goal for Brooks, Tuesday felt like a significant night in his recovery, impressing in front of first-team boss Gary O’Neil. “I think if you look at it, it’s obviously been a difficult 18 months,” Brooks told the Daily Echo. “It’s not been without it’s challenges. “I’m under no illusion, I’m not exactly going to be starting the next game and playing 90 minutes. “I know where my role is and I think everyone at the football club knows where I’m at physically and what the demands of the Premier League are. “Days like (Tuesday) I’m just ticking off boxes to try and get in the best shape possible to obviously help the team.” Asked if he feels he showed a glimpse against Portsmouth of what he may be able to provide Cherries in their bid to avoid relegation, Brooks added: “That’s what I’m hoping for. “These are the nights where I’m coming in trying to build fitness, just to be able to do the end of games at the moment. “Just to try and help the team. In the best case scenario, I want to be coming on when we’re winning 3-0! But obviously that’s not going to be the case every week. “So I need to be as fit as possible, as sharp as possible if the gaffer needs me in any scenario.” The perfect return for @DRBrooks15 ✨The winger netted a hat-trick for the development squad this evening 👊 pic.twitter.com/86rKQWBuke — AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) March 21, 2023 Reflecting on his hat-trick, one of which was a deflected strike and another he knew little about as the ball was fired against him, Brooks admitted: “It was nice. I don’t think it was the cleanest of hat-tricks I’ll ever get! “But it’s always nice to put the ball in the back of the net and it was just nice to be back out there.” Asked if he had ever scored a 13-minute hat-trick before, Brooks said: “I can’t say I have. It was a bit of a scruffy hat-trick so I won’t be replaying the highlights that much, but it was nice to put the ball in the back of the net. “It’s a nice habit to have and hopefully I can score a few for the first team.”