Smith Not Ruling Out Derby Day Return

The midfielder missed five months of competitive action after undergoing ankle surgery towards the end of last season.

Having made his return as a substitute in the 3-2 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in September, Smith suffered a setback and was soon back on the treatment table.

But the 25-year-old completed 61 minutes of last night’s Under-23 game at Ashton Gate, ironically helping City defeat their Wednesday counterparts 2-0, and believes he is fit enough to play at the Cardiff City Stadium if called upon.

“I’ll always put a shift in and try my hardest if I get called up to the first team. Obviously I haven’t played 90 minutes yet, but I’d love to play.

“After six months out, you have to set little milestones inside your head, so playing for 60 minutes was really great for me.

“I probably need a few days to recover now and make sure I get my muscles and my ankle right, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

 “The plan was to play between 45 and 60 minutes and, hopefully, I can build on that now. I wanted to carry on at half-time because I was enjoying it so much.

“We have some really good young players here and it was nice to get back out at Ashton Gate and play in such a good team.

“I know it can make them a bit nervous when one of the older players comes in, so I just tried to be a friend to them and help them in any way I could. It was a nice game for me to come into."