Julio Pleguezuelo says it was an “amazing feeling” to return to the field after being out all season.

The Plymouth Argyle defender started Tuesday’s Vertu Trophy win at Leyton Orient after recovering from knee surgery.

The 28-year-old Spaniard was injured in Argyle’s final game of pre-season back in August.

“It was an amazing feeling to be back out there on the pitch,” he told BBC Radio Devon.

“It’s been a long time coming, but I got through all my rehab and all my training sessions completely fine and now I’m ready to hit the ground running.”

He added: “The first couple of weeks of doing pitch training, I could feel that I needed to get back used to doing what I used to do.

“But especially last week in training, I could really start feeling the sharpness coming back, my intensity in training, and Tuesday night I didn’t feel too much out of place.

“Obviously, it’s tough on the lungs sometimes – the first game back after a while. But I got through the 45 minutes completely fine and I just want to keep going now.”