Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper praised Scott McKenna's "commitment" as the defender made an earlier than expected return from injury.
McKenna had suffered a hamstring problem in last month's 3-1 win over QPR which was expected to sideline him for between four to five weeks. But he returned little after little more than a fortnight, missing just the FA Cup defeat to Liverpool at the City Ground.
The centre-back was in the starting XI for yesterday's 4-1 thumping of Blackpool, and he picked up from where he left off. McKenna put in a typically-solid performance and weighed in with a superb assist to set up substitute Sam Surridge for the Reds' final goal.
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"He really committed to his recovery during the international break," said Cooper. "I guess with us not having any games, there was full attention on seeing what we could do in terms of improvement to his injury.
"He has been really committed to it. He hasn't had any time off.
"Earlier in the week the doctor said he was making good progress, we'll see how it goes. Scott being Scott, he really wanted to play. Fortunately he was fit, and he played well.
"He got an assist, but the more pleasing thing for me was he jumped off his line and won it in what we call the fight zone. If you can get an assist after it, then great.
"Everyone knows how well Scott has done for us this year. He's got to make sure he keeps his head down, keeps improving and keeps playing well."
