After making his first-team return to action from injury against Grimsby Town in EFL Trophy action, Conor McCarthy spoke to iFollow Barnsley.
"To come through it unscathed and win 2-0 was really, really pleasing."
The Irishman stepped out on Oakwell for the first time almost a year after sustaining an ACL injury back in September 2022, playing ninety minutes in our opening group game against the Mariners.
"It's my first game in 345 days. To top it off with a clean sheet, I couldn't ask for much more," began the centre-back.
"When you're out injured, it's a long time. The physios and the sports science team, they're probably sick of me because I wanted to play two months ago, but obviously they've seen enough injuries. They've been around the game long enough to know that I probably wasn't ready. This game has probably been earmarked for a very long time as my return from injury, so to come through it unscathed and win 2-0 was really, really pleasing."
Recovering from knee surgery, McCarthy has spent a large chunk of the previous year building up strength and getting match-ready.
This meant spending the majority of his time in the gym and physio department, working closely with our medical and sports science team. Despite a lengthy period on the sidelines, the 25-year-old felt as fit as he could be at this stage.
"I felt great! Physically, I felt great. Obviously, when you haven't played for so long, there's elements of the game where you're not razor-sharp; every footballer will tell you that. It takes a couple of games to get in that rhythm. Your movement with the strikers or being tight on the ball. It'll take a few games, but when the time comes, I'll be as sharp as a button."
Watch Conor's full post-match interview on iFollow Barnsley!
