Ben Godfrey has insisted that he wasn't surprised by his own performance levels on his return to the starting line-up for Everton against Manchester City, because of the amount of work he has put in.
The 24-year-old defender had not played a minute of senior action since he suffered a fractured fibula and damaged ankle ligaments less than 10 minutes into Everton's first game of the season against Chelsea at Goodison Park. But he returned as a second-half substitute on Boxing Day against Wolves and was then named in the eleven for the match against Manchester City.
Operating in a three-man central defensive trio, Godfrey helped the Blues to recover from their disappointing defeat five days earlier to take a point off the Premier League champions at the Etihad. But when asked if his solid outing had been unexpected on his first start in four months, he felt quite the opposite.
