Yeovil Town defender Nathan Ralph is pleased to have been given the all clear on a knee injury which has kept him sidelined for 10 months.

The 20-year-old last featured for the Glovers when he scored in a 3-1 win over Preston North End at Huish Park on the 12th February 2013.

With full training for the left-back set to resume in the New Year, Ralph is pleased to be back kicking a ball.

“It was a very long time and it didn’t go fast at all. It was nice to get back into training, the boys gave me a round of applause which was nice; just to get a feel of the ball and be out there with a ball was nice.

“It’s hard when everyone is going out for training and you have to wait behind in the changing room and go to the gym and see the same thing every day, so it was lovely to get back on the pitch.

“I’m here to play football and that’s what I want to do. Obviously I still work hard in the gym but that’s not what you want to be doing which makes it harder because you find your days are longer – you’re in first and you’re away last,” said Ralph.

The former Peterborough defender, who worked under Gary Johnson at London Road, admits to the mental strain of being injured but has benefited from the presence of goalkeeper Marek Stech who was ruled out for four months earlier this season with a broken hand.

“It’s hard mentally, especially when you’re by yourself. To be fair I’ve had Marek Stech for quite a lot of the time so we’ve helped each other along with it and it keeps you going because you bounce off of each other.

“The days where you’re there by yourself in the gym you have to motivate yourself and it can get hard.”

Ralph had only just recovered from injury before netting against Preston and despite having no direct impact on the Play-Off success the Dunmow born defender was confident of success at Wembley.

He said: “You end on a bit of a high (scoring) and then to have to go to Wembley and watch from the stands was hard. I was confident in the boys though and I knew we would win so it didn’t faze me too much.”

With full training now on the horizon, Ralph is looking to build on his 14 appearances for the Glovers, after hopefully penning a new deal at Huish Park.

“I’m looking to resume full training in the New Year so we will see how it goes. My contract runs out in January so the main aim for now is to play well, impress the gaffer and hopefully extend my contract until at least the end of the season and try and push for a place.”