Derby County's Tom Huddlestone was pleased to return to the squad following a recent spell on the sidelines in the Emirates FA Cup Third Round victory over Premier League side Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The 33-year-old had been missing since the start of October with a hamstring injury which he sustained in the 2-2 draw against Barnsley at Oakwell.
Huddlestone scored a first-half penalty to put the Rams 2-1 ahead in the game but was forced to depart moments later with his injury.
It’s been a long three months of rehabilitation for the midfielder, but he returned to the squad for yesterday’s 1-0 cup victory against the Eagles.
He impressed on his return before being replaced on 75 minutes by youngster Max Bird and he was pleased to make his long-awaited return.
“It has been a long time and a frustrating time with such an innocuous injury really,” he told RamsTV.
“The first few weeks are difficult where you can’t do too much but when you can get on the bike and start running again and doing gym, it hasn’t been too bad.
“It was good to mark my return with a win. We made changes but had a strong team out there. The players were chomping at the bit to try to impress and get themselves in the starting XI for the league matches.
“I think we gave a good account of ourselves against a solid, well established Premier League team. I thought it was a good performance and after the hectic schedule over the Christmas period.
“On a personal note, it was good to get some minutes under my belt. I thought we played well and thoroughly deserved the win.”
Minutes is exactly what the midfielder needs to get himself back to full fitness.
Prior to his injury, Huddlestone had played every minute of Sky Bet Championship action for the Rams under Phillip Cocu and he knows that he needs to play in order to reach peak match sharpness.
“You can do as much training as you like, similar to in pre-season, that’s why there are a few pre-season games,” he said.
“Playing matches is completely different to any type of running you can do in training, a lot of reactive stuff and man-to-man stuff in there as well a lot of the time.
“It is totally different so good to get 70-odd minutes under my belt. Hopefully I will get a good week’s training and be in contention for the upcoming league matches.”
