Kieran Sadlier was delighted to make a scoring return to the starting XI at Rush Green on Tuesday afternoon as the Development Squad recorded a comfortable 3-0 friendly victory against Leyton Orient.
The winger scored twice against the O's, netting the opener from close-range and doubling his tally with a glancing header shortly after half-time.
The wide man has been out since before Christmas with medial tibia stress syndrome and is now keen to rack up the minutes as he continues his return to full fitness.
He told West Ham TV: "I'm feeling good," he said. "It was nice to get 75 minutes under my belt today.
"I played 80 minutes last week and 20 or 30 in other games, so it was nice to get a start in a proper game as the other one was a training game. I feel alright at the moment."
Sadlier also admitted that it has been a frustrating time for himself during his spell on the side-lines.
"It's been frustrating seeing the other boys out training every day and playing on Friday nights here and away from home.
"It's been frustrating but I knew I'd eventually come back. I thought it wasn't as serious as it was and in the end it just needed a lot of rest which it has now had."
Before his injury, the Republic of Ireland youth international had been a regular feature for Nick Haycock's side in the Barclays Under-21 Premier League, making ten appearances.
Sadlier had also found the net twice in those matches and he was pleased to be back among the goals against Orient on Tuesday.
"It was good. I haven't scored as many as I would have wanted this season anyway so it gives me confidence going into the Arsenal game and we'll see what team Nick picks. If I'm on the bench, that's fine, but I'm just looking to get some more minutes.
"The league this year has been frustrating because of the breaks between games, but it's good to have these friendlies in between.
"It's better to have matches because they're more competitive and everyone's more up for it. Training is good, but games are always going to be better for you."
The Development Squad will now turn their attention to a return to league action against Arsenal on Monday evening.
A 2-0 loss to Liverpool in their last league outing has dropped the Hammers to eighth place in the table and Sadlier is keen to bounce back against the Gunners.
"Everyone was disappointed to lose to Liverpool, a lot of the boys thought we deserved more out of the game but we're all determined to bounce back with a win against Arsenal.
"We have qiuite a good record at this level against Arsenal as well, so everyone's confident that we can beat them.
"Everyone wants to beat Arsenal because they're a big club and everyone will be up for it."