Burnley's Hjalmar Ekdal opens up on return from injury after making first start against Wolves
Hjalmar Ekdal described his first taste of Premier League football as a “really fun” and “cool” experience.
The defender was handed his first start of the campaign on Tuesday night during Burnley’s narrow 1-0 defeat to Wolves.
The 25-year-old had previously missed large chunks of the season with an injury he picked up in the Carabao Cup game against Nottingham Forest back in August.
But now back to full fitness, Ekdal was champing at the bit to see what the top flight has to offer.
"It was fun, really fun. A cool experience,” he told Clarets+.
"I’m happy to have done it now, but I can’t be satisfied with it, it’s only one game. I have to keep pushing.
"I felt okay out there. I managed to play the whole game almost, except for the last couple of minutes. I started to get some cramp feelings, which is normal I assume when you’ve been out for a couple of months.
"I think it was good.”
While Ekdal’s return ended in defeat, he remains confident the Clarets are heading in the right direction.
"We’re disappointed for sure,” he said.
"We lose this game in a way that we have seen before a little bit, where they punish us for a mistake.
"We did a good performance and we could have punished them as well when they gave us the chances in the first-half.
"Traffs [James Trafford] made some saves as well but in the whole picture, the performance was good. As we’ve seen in the last couple of games, we’re on the right track and it’s just a matter of time until we get the points.”