Walker's first steps

Kyle Walker admitted he was ‘glad to be back’ after returning to action for our Under-21s against Manchester City on Monday night.

The full-back pulled on the shirt again after recovering from abdominal surgery in September and completed 67 minutes as Shaq Coulthirst’s double and Luke McGee’s last-minute penalty save secured a 2-1 win in the Barclays U21 Premier League.

“I feel good,” he said. “I still need to work on the sharpness of my game but that will come with matches and training with the first team.

“I’m just glad to be back. It’s been a long time and I want to say a big thank-you to the medical staff and the people around me who have helped me through it.”

Out of first team action since March, Kyle was a mainstay of the team at the time of his injury.

Indeed, after breaking into the team at the start of the 2011-12 campaign, he’d put together a run of 98 starts in 103 Premier League matches.

“I started playing regularly in 2011 and in the first three years I racked up a lot of games,” added Kyle, who has 134 appearances for us in all competitions under his belt.

“Perhaps it was good to have to sit back and reflect not just on my game but things around me.

“For a start, I’ve watched more football. I’ve been studying the game a lot. It’s been a big learning curve but hopefully I’ll come back more mature and with a wiser head on my shoulders.”