'Amazing feeling' - Brighton midfielder returns to action after 18-months

Jakub Moder returned to action in the Nottingham Forest win. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

The Polish international picked up a serious knee problem in April 2022, back when Graham Potter was Albion's head coach and Roberto De Zerbi was months away from joining the club.

After playing a couple of times for the Seagulls' under-21 side in recent weeks, the 24-year-old was included in the matchday squad to take on Nottingham Forest on Saturday and the midfielder came on in the 77th minute of the 3-2 win at City Ground.

Now, the Pole has spoken about what it means to pull on the Brighton jersey after a very difficult and lengthy spell on the sidelines.

He told My Albion TV: "Yeah...tough game to come back in but I am very happy, finally after 19 months and very tough times for me I am finally back. I am happy and very grateful for the medical staff and teammates and the fans for their amazing support during my rehab.

"Everybody knows that an ACL injury is normally like nine months or maximum 12 months so it was a little bit more than that. We had to make sure everything is properly done and everything is 100% so that I can play in games like that.

"It's an amazing feeling. I've been working so hard for the last one and a half years so it is amazing to put the [Brighton] shirt back on and go out there."

The former Lech Poznan star, who signed for Brighton in 2020, also paid credit to head coach De Zerbi for helping him get back to this level.

Moder, who has played 45 times for the Seagulls and scored two goals, also spoke about the club's plans for him in the near future.

"He [De Zerbi] has been very good with me. He helped me a lot because a lot of things changed since my injury. It's all new for me, he's been amazing with me, he helped me in training, helped me today (Saturday). I spoke with him before the game and he said maybe I could get a chance today. He has been very good to me," said Moder.

"I have to take it really slowly, step by step. I got like 20-25 minutes today (Saturday) and hopefully we can build up slowly and get more minutes in the upcoming games."