Duncan Watmore admits his full recovery from his three years of injury hell is still ongoing, as he deals with the mental battles of trusting his body after so long out.
Watmore was one of the brightest young wingers in the country in December 2016 when he first suffered what would turn out to be the first of two serious ACL injuries.
And while he would return from those injuries roughly 12 months ago, the next six-to-eight months were disrupted by niggling muscle injuries that made his availability inconsistent.
But since Phil Parkinson arrived in October, Watmore has had an extended period of being physically fit and playing regularly - something he admits he is delighted about.
"I feel really good. I've obviously played a lot more in the last few weeks than I have done for quite a few years," Watmore told the club website.
"So in terms of on a personal level, I'm really pleased with where I'm at physically and how robust I feel right now.
"But obviously, the results haven't been good, so in that respect I'm very disappointed. We all know that and we've got to make sure that we put it right.
"But on a personal level, I'm really happy that physically I've been able to sustain a few games."
Sunderland have struggled since Parkinson's arrival, losing seven of the 11 games in that time. That period has seen Sunderland struggle in the final third of the pitch as they struggle for creativity and invention, but Watmore has at times been a bright spark in the side, with his pace not affected by the seriousness of his injuries.
That said, Watmore says the mental side of his recovery is still an ongoing process.
He continued: "It's tough. The mental side is probably harder than the physical side after all these injuries.
"But it's something that I'm working through and I'm just trying to build up my own confidence with each game that I play.
"I'm just really enjoying being able to play lots of games."
