It‘s such a relief to be back. I had been excited for weeks about coming back and playing and got 45 minutes on Tuesday at West Brom.

When you have been away for so long from something you love doing, it is emotional coming back into it.

I am grateful my knee managed to heal and it wasn’t as bad as some people thought and feared. I am happy and just want to kick on now.

It was good to really test it. I held my breath when I got a heavy challenge on it but I was happy. It felt good.

What kept me out for so long was that I tore my ligaments in the knee.

The injury came from a bad challenge in pre-season. My studs got caught in the ground and my leg went one way and the impact managed to dislocate my knee and tear ligaments.

My knee cap popped back into place and it would have been a lot worse if it had been left floating around.

But it was the ligaments that took so long to heal because for months I was getting irritation with it. It was holding me back and I had to be patient.

We had to be cautious with it at first. It could have been a serious injury but I have managed it well and worked hard.

The physios and management have been great, making sure I am doing all the right things to come back feeling good.

It was good to be out there for 45 minutes and against my old team because when you are in training it is not full contact and as intense as a game.

Read the full column in Friday's Medway Messenger