Robbie Cundy revealed his grandma passed away the day before his terrific full Bristol City debut in the victory at Blackburn earlier this month.
The 24-year-old's three-year wait to make his first start for the Robins through loans and a serious knee injury was rewarded with a "surreal" debut when Andi Weimann scored a last-gasp winner to send the away fans into raptures.
Cundy had made three substitute appearances before lining up at Ewood Park as City picked up a rare away victory and kept their first clean sheet this year.
The centre-back's beaming smile at the end of the contest painted a picture of both pride and relief with club physiotherapist Andrew Proctor one of the first to congratulate Cundy on social media, referencing the "dark times" he player has been through during his six months of the sidelines.
Cundy, who was playing for non-league Gloucester just three years ago, summed up his emotions on his return to action and his memorable full debut with his family in attendance.
He said: "It's been a long journey, I've had four loans since I've been here with ups and downs but I've finally achieved my goal which was to play for Bristol City.
"It was a bit surreal at the time, obviously, it was my first start and we got a win away from home, it was the perfect debut.
"My grandma passed away the day before and my family were up there watching me so that was extra special. I was just delighted with the result."
Cundy fractured the cartilage in his left knee while on loan with Gillingham last season, keeping him sidelined for over half a year and forcing him to break down mental barriers to make a return to the field.
After making a first appearance of the season as a substitute in an eight-minute cameo at the end of January, Cundy has played the full 90 minutes in three games within a weak before the international break.
He praised the medical team for all their hard work and patience to get him back into action while speaking of the long journey he has endured - including a total of nine loan spells throughout his career.
"It was a long slog and there were some dark times but obviously we've got through it now and it's (his knee) holding up well," he added.
"It's been a long journey, I've had four loans since I've been here with ups and downs but I've finally achieved my goal which was to play for Bristol City.
"I was with the medical team every day and they saw I was going through a tough time with my injury, being the longest I've had. They had a lot of patience so hats off to them. They just kept positive throughout the whole thing and I'm grateful for them."
When asked how he dealt with combatting the mental struggle on the sidelines, Cundy added: "For me it was focusing what I could affect at the time, in the gym and things I could improve on - it was tough seeing the boys go out and train and I was only in the gym doing weights and certain cardio sessions at the time.
"So for me, it was just focussing on them and getting the best out of the situation I had.
"I've played in a lot of leagues, some players that I've come across in the past may take a lot of things for granted. Obviously coming to the training ground here and seeing all the top facilities, I'm grateful for having all this.
"I've been all the leagues and been through some bad and good places and I'm grateful for all this and I've got to use everything here to make myself better to stay on top of my injury."
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