Wycombe centre-back Ryan Tafazolli hopes he can put his injuries behind him, after he scored his first goal for the club in the 2-1 win over Cardiff City on December 29.
The 29-year-old summer signing from Hull City made only his third appearance for the club and his first since September, in the much-needed win over the Welsh side, which was Wycombe’s first victory in 12 matches.
The defender rose the highest from a Joe Jacobson corner to smash in a header on 33 minutes.
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Speaking after the match, he said: “To be frank, it has been nothing short of a nightmare start in terms of my injury.
“I got it early on against Swansea [back in September] but I played on with it.
“I literally couldn’t get over it and probably rushed back too quickly with hindsight and it has been very frustrating.
“But it is good to finally get over that and get back out on the pitch.”
On his goal, he added: “When I do score, I get a feeling of shock and surprise like, ‘wow, it has actually gone in’.
“My thought process was more shock and relief, so I was delighted with that.
“His [Joe Jacobson’s] left foot is most probably one of the best in the league, so you know you always have a chance and that is what he did tonight [December 29].”
The win ended a torrid winless run stretching back to the start of November, when Wycombe defeated Birmingham 2-1 at St Andrew's.
Since then, the Chairboys had drawn five and lost six, which has seen them go bottom of the table.
However, the win over Cardiff, which was their first victory over the Bluebirds since September 1999, means they are now only four points away from safety.
And with the Cardiff match being the first of three consecutive home games, Tafazolli hopes the win can kick start their season.
He continued: “It has been very frustrating as the boys in so many games have been the better team, and there have been key moments and fine lines that have gone against us.
“But fortunately tonight [December 29], it has gone our way and we deserved the three points.
“And I think at the start [of the season], it might have been a shock to the system because we didn’t win for so many games and we didn’t pick up any points, but since then, we have been the better team.
“We have turned a corner and we have been the better team in most games.
“We should have won many games that we didn’t, and we should have picked up draws from losses, so the boys have done really well and we just need to look forward now.”
Up next for Wycombe is a home match against Neil Warnock's Middlesbrough on January 2.
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