"It was difficult,” said the 28-year-old. “I didn’t know at which point I’d be back, so psychologically it was really hard for me.
“Luckily, this is all in the past. I am fit again, I’ve been good and I’m now hopefully injury-free again.
“I’ve always appreciated football, I’ve always loved training and I’ve always loved playing even more.
“But now, every time I go into training, I am like a child getting back with the team.
“Last year, I came to train alone all of the time while my team-mates were outside. For a long time, I was alone and training in the gym because I was injured.
“Now I am training with my teammates again, I feel like the happiest guy in the world. I want to play, but I am so happy just to be back and training.
“It is true what they say in life, when something happens to you, you appreciate things more. That’s what’s happened to me.
“We had a friendly at Melwood recently and I looked forward to it like it was a Premier League game. Ten months without playing is a long, long time.
“I have been training every day, but games are completely different, so these types of friendlies are fantastic. I feel like a child right now, I am so happy.
“Even in my personal life, I am so happy right now. I feel really happy here.”