Dom Jefferies was pleased to be back on the pitch this week - eight months after being forced to have two operations on his hip.
Jefferies had been sidelined since having surgery in April, with Tuesday's game against the Tykes his first outing in a City shirt since his recovery.
Also making their long-awaited returns from injury were attacking midfielder Jack Moylan and defender Oisin Gallagher, who Jefferies was equally as pleased for.
He said: “I’m buzzing to be back out there, but I’m equally pleased for Oisin and Jack who have also returned from spells out.
“It has been tough for me in the last few months but I’m just happy to be back out there, feeling fit and strong.
“This has been my longest injury and it has felt like a long time since I was back out there, so to get out there again and play is an amazing feeling.”
Jefferies was full of praise for the character of his team-mates after they bounced back from last Saturday’s defeat against Rotherham United with an impressive 2-0 victory at Oakwell to seal a place in the knockout stages of the Vertu Trophy.
He added: “We know the last game wasn’t what we’re about, but I think the lads showed great character to bounce back.
“You’re always going to have games where things don’t go too well for you, that’s football, but I think the boys have shown great fight.
“We’ve come to a tough place on a Tuesday night and got a good win to top the group. We have a big squad and a lot of quality in the dressing room as well. We’ve made nine changes and still got the result.
“That shows the calibre of players we have in the dressing room and how hard we work.”
