Nemanja Vidic declared himself happy to have returned to action after featuring in Manchester United's goalless draw against Valerenga.
United captain looks forward after coming through friendly
Nemanja Vidic declared himself happy to have returned to action after featuring in Manchester United's goalless draw against Valerenga.
The Serbian defender has spent the past eight months on the sidelines recovering from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
But he has been making good progress over the summer and played for an hour as United kicked off their pre-season tour of Scandinavia with a hard-fought draw in Norway.
Vidic knows that he must keep working hard over the next few weeks but he is delighted to be back and hopes he will have better luck with injuries in future.
"I felt well," he told MUTV. "After eight months without a game it's obvious that you have to get used to your positioning, and still fitness-wise it's not as hopefully it will be in a few weeks, but I'm pleased. My knee felt well, I felt well and hopefully the next game will be better.
"It was frustrating, but obviously I knew I would be out for six months. I tried to make the best of it, to work hard and when I come back to be the same as I was before the injury.
"This was my target and we'll see how good a job I did in that six months. It's hard, but it's part of the football career.
"Any sportsman has the risk of injuries and hopefully this is the past and better days are coming for me."
Good test
The likes of Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Nani and Ashley Young also made their first appearances of pre-season after taking part in Euro 2012, and Vidic believes there were plenty of positives to take from the game as United build towards a clash with Barcelona in Gothenburg next week.
"It went well," he said. "Obviously it was the first appearance for a few players, obviously myself as well. It was a good test.
"Obviously the result was not as we expected but still we had chances we didn't score. I think it was a good game and a really good test for us.
"It [Barcelona] will be a tough game, but obviously it will be a good test for us. We need those games before the league starts. We have to know it's a friendly game and it doesn't count for the trophies and points.
"Last year we beat Barcelona in a friendly game and lost in a final."
