Pre-Match Thoughts: 'Great To Be Back' - Ward

Derby County's Joe Ward says it's 'great to be back' on the pitch after over two months on the sidelines.

Ward made his long awaited return to the matchday squad in Saturday's 3-1 loss at Stevenage as a late substitute after being sidelined since mid--August with a heel injury.

The summer signing from Peterborough United is now looking to push on and help the squad to try and string some positive results together in the weeks ahead.

Speaking to RamsTV, Ward spoke about his road to recovery and how happy he is to be back involved in Paul Warne's squad.

On his road to recovery...

It's felt like a very long time. It's felt like half a season to be fair! It's been very frustrating because I just wanted to be out there and be part of it but I've just had to be patient, let the injury heal and I feel like I'm in a good place now.

On his injury...

I tore my plantar fascia. It's a little bit that basically runs down the bottom of the foot and the fat pad was torn and very bruised. It was waiting for the tear and the bruising to heal and bruising takes a long time. I'm in a good place now.

On what he was doing fitness wise...

I've done a lot of cardio work, pool work and swimming. I was on the bike with a boot on and using the cardio machines like the rower in the gym and the ropes. It was just a case of topping up where I could and keeping my fitness up.

On the timing of the injury...

The timing was the most frustrating thing because I'd had a good pre-season, done well in the opening games and was hoping to take that into the start of the season and then I got the annoying injury. It was very frustrating but I just wanted to get back as quick as I could and get back to doing what I was doing pre-season and helping the team.

On how he's found watching on...

It's been tough. Watching the team lose is obviously horrible when you want to be out there helping them but watching them win games, I was delighted for the lads. You just have to keep working behind the scenes, keep close with the lads and then get back in with them as quick as possible. You've got to support the team and just do what you can though when you're not involved.

On his return to action on Saturday...

It was great to be back and a great feeling to be involved again on a matchday. It was good to get the minutes but it wasn't the result we wanted. We've got to be better, much better, and we will be.

On conversations in the dressing room after defeats...

We speak about it a little bit and then we have a meeting and go over good stuff and bad stuff. There are little conversations about it but then it's brushed to one side because when there's another fixture in a couple of days, you have to focus on that too. It's about moving on and focusing on the next one because we need points on the board.

On Tuesday night against Northampton...

We need to get three points and try and build and get some momentum and get a few wins in a row on the board.