England striker Alan Smith declared himself happy on Monday with his comeback for the Manchester United reserves six months after suffering an horrific broken leg when playing for the first team.
The 25-year-old former Leeds United star played for just over an hour in United’s 7-2 thrashing of Preston, failing to score but he was still more than satisfied.
”I have worked hard for that all through the summer,” said Smith, who saw any hopes of making England’s World Cup squad disappear when he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle against Liverpool in an FA Cup match in February.
”That is what my goal has been. Playing for the reserves is a step up from training and hopefully, in a few weeks’ time, I will have had some more reserve games and be able to make the step up to the first team.
”The first half I felt okay but I started to get a bit tired 15 minutes into the second half, which is why I came off.
”I just need a few matches under my belt, although I think I could have played all night and not scored.
”But my movement was okay and I just need to build up my strength a little bit.”
With United manager Sir Alex Ferguson unable to find a replacement buy for the departed Ruud van Nistelrooy, the Scot has signalled that he will play Smith up front rather than in midfield as he did last season. — Sapa-AFP