Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson was delighted with his comeback against Manchester City.
Henderson returned from a serious ankle injury to play the second-half of Sunday's 1-1 draw.
"I feel much more confident now and it was good for me to get out there and get back into the swing of things," Henderson told safc.com. "I was a bit stiff the next day but that's to be expected.
"The gaffer asked if I was okay to be on the bench and even though I'd only trained twice I felt fine. I was lucky enough to get on and it was really enjoyable.
"I've got back about two or three weeks ahead of what we expected. I didn't want to push it but I've managed to recover quickly and hopefully I can push on now and carry on progressing in training."