West Ham defender Reece Burke was back in action for defeat to PL2 opponents Middlesbrough.

The 20-year-old has endured a wretched few months on the sidelines through injury, but made his comeback for the U23s as their play-off hopes took a dent at London Stadium.

Burke, currently on loan at Wigan Athletic, is unsure whether he will return to the Latics as they fight relegation in the Sky Bet Championship, but the defender was still pleased to get some much needed minutes on Monday.

“It was good to get 90 minutes after a long time not being on the pitch," admitted Burke to whufc.com. “I'm buzzing with it but obviously not buzzing with the result.

“It's not nice, it's probably one of the worst things in football being injured but some injuries you just can't do anything about.

“Obviously you have to stay strong and there are always things you can work on off the pitch. That's what I've been doing and I'm glad to be back.

“There's a chat I need to have with the physio. The plan was once I get 90 minutes and felt fully fit, I'd be going back up north and hopefully getting some games under my belt and help Wigan stay up. But we'll wait and see."