Leicester City defender Jonny Evans admits he feared for his career over a troublesome foot injury.
The 33-year-old made his first appearance for Northern Ireland since March on Friday night as he returned to anchor the defence in a 1-0 win over Lithuania, his 92nd cap, but had missed the previous three camps due to plantar fasciitis.
Having hobbled off in the first half of the FA Cup Final in May, Evans missed several games for Leicester at the start of this season, though he has been a regular presence since returning for the 4-2 win over Manchester United on October 16.
Asked if he had feared for his career, Evans said: “There was a point probably where I did think that myself, I thought, 'I'm really struggling here, maybe I'm not going to get back'.
“I had people around me, club doctors and people who I spoke to who gave me great reassurance on that. I wish I'd been able to come back a bit sooner. I wasn't able to but I think there was maybe a point where I thought, 'Maybe that's me done, I'll be on 91 caps forever'.
“But now I'm back here, my injury is in a great place. I wouldn't even call it an injury anymore."
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