Midfielder Gary O’Neil has spoken of his delight at getting an hour under his belt in the Under 23 tie this week with Liverpool as he continues his comeback from injury.
The 34 year old last appeared for Bristol City back in August before undergoing knee surgery, but on Tuesday evening he made a return for our Under 23 side as we took a one nil victory over Liverpool at Ashton Gate in the Premier League Cup competition and wearing the armband for the match, he got through 90 minutes to bring him one step closer to a first team return for Lee Johnson.
Speaking to the Official Site after getting the run out, he was obviously delighted to have been back out on the pitch after his six months on the side lines and he explained he felt good.
‘It has been a tough road so I am delighted to be back and to have come through 60 minutes. I felt really good. Playing 60 minutes was about right. I was desperate to stay on but when you think about it logically, it was the right thing to play for an hour.’
O’Neil went on to say.
‘I was playing for a quite a while before the surgery when we couldn’t figure out what the problem was. Now my knee feels a million times better. I felt nowhere near as good as I feel now. It’s gone well and I hope it keeps progressing so I can get myself back in and around the first team squad. But we’ll see how it goes, I have to see what the gaffer’s plans are. I need some more minutes to get myself up to speed so I’ll see if and when the first team need me and if not i’ll happily get some minutes with the U23s.’
Reflecting on the victory itself as we put ourselves through to the knockout stages of the competition and O’Neil felt it was a ‘deserved’ victory on the night.
‘All the lads did well because they are a good side who move the ball well. There were periods where we knew Liverpool would have the ball but the lads stuck to their task, all worked hard. They are a fantastic group and I enjoyed being involved with them. They have welcomed me into their little cool gang, being the old man but yes I’ve enjoyed it. I’m delighted they saw this one out fairly comfortably because they deserved the win.’
