Joey O’Brien made an emotional return to the pitch following a six-month injury lay-off in Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup stalemate at Liverpool.
The Irishman had missed virtually the entire season to date with a niggly ankle problem, but came through his Anfield runout unscathed, much to his delight.
Now, having marked his comeback he is determined to play his part over the closing part of the campaign.
He explained: “It’s great to be back on the pitch. It’s been a long time since I played in the European games in the summer, and coming to a place like Anfield it what it’s all about.
“Getting on earlier than I even dreamed off was nice. Over the years I’ve had some bad times [with injury], and people were saying ‘you haven’t played in a long time’, but I had two-and-a-half years without playing before.
“People forget that, but I don’t and I take inspiration from that time that I missed back in the day. Six months is nothing really, but it is great to come back.
“I hurt my ankle in a practice game against Crystal Palace and thought nothing of it at the time.
“It was a lot worse than we thought and it lingered on, but it’s over now and playing these games is what you do the rehab for.
"We were disappointed not to win on Saturday. Very few times have I come up to Anfield and been disappointed with a draw, but we’re looking forward to the replay and hopefully doing the business."
The Irishman had missed virtually the entire season to date with a niggly ankle problem, but came through his Anfield runout unscathed, much to his delight.
Now, having marked his comeback he is determined to play his part over the closing part of the campaign.
He explained: “It’s great to be back on the pitch. It’s been a long time since I played in the European games in the summer, and coming to a place like Anfield it what it’s all about.
“Getting on earlier than I even dreamed off was nice. Over the years I’ve had some bad times [with injury], and people were saying ‘you haven’t played in a long time’, but I had two-and-a-half years without playing before.
“People forget that, but I don’t and I take inspiration from that time that I missed back in the day. Six months is nothing really, but it is great to come back.
“I hurt my ankle in a practice game against Crystal Palace and thought nothing of it at the time.
“It was a lot worse than we thought and it lingered on, but it’s over now and playing these games is what you do the rehab for.
"We were disappointed not to win on Saturday. Very few times have I come up to Anfield and been disappointed with a draw, but we’re looking forward to the replay and hopefully doing the business."