HEYWOOD’S Sam Woodall continues to go from strength to strength, making his USA debut in January and is in contention for the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Rookie of the Year.

The cowboy impressed before he suffered a lacerated kidney/liver at his second event, and was expected to miss three months.

Ever the competitor, Woodall recovered quicker and returned to the saddle last week in Arizona in the Global Cup, and despite missing more than six weeks, he sits third in the rookie of the year standings, 125.5 points off the pace.

The Heywood cowboy said the timing of the injury was not ideal, but was determined to work hard to get back on a bull as quick as possible.

“Of course, you are disappointed in that, but that is part of what it is,” Woodall told PBR Australia.

“You can’t control those things. The moment it happened, I started working towards getting back right away.

“Really, they said I would be out three months, so Global Cup didn’t look likely.

“I just tried to push forward for this, but there was nothing I could do but wait.

“It was real frustrating just not being able to do things. That was the main thing, being limited to what you could do.”

Going into the weekend, Woodall was ranked 46 in the world, and said he was just ecstatic to finally get over to America and compete on the world stage..

“I had a good start to the season (in Australia), and I was sitting well in the standings, so I figured I might as well come over,” Woodall said.

“You don’t get a chance like this very often.

“I am here until April 19th-ish, and then I fly back home for a wedding I am attending. I will come back and be at the World Finals, hopefully.”

The timing of his visit to America is no coincidence.

The 23-year-old has taken a more professional approach to the sport in recent times and has limited his distractions to give him the best chance of success.

 “I guess I wasn’t as focused as I’ve been recently,” Woodall said.

“I liked to party a little too much, and I finally settled down some to focus on what I need to do now. I was willing to do what I had to do to come over.”

The PBR World Finals are scheduled for May 13-22.