Shane Duffy says he is "over the moon" to be playing football again.

The defender played the entire 90 minutes of Everton Reserves' 2-0 defeat to Sligo Rovers on Sunday - his first outing since undergoing life-saving abdominal surgery after a freak accident at the end of last season.

Remarkably, the centre-back returned to action just 10 weeks after the incident, which nearly ended his football career, and almost his life.

Understandably the friendly was a special moment for the 18-year-old in terms of his return, but also as it took place in his home country with his parents in the crowd.

"It was important for me, not probably for the team, but for me because it was much first match back," Duffy told evertontv.

"But I just eased into the game and I felt good half way through. It just felt great to be back on the pitch.”

Admittedly anxious ahead of the game, Duffy's outing nearly ended prematurely after he retaliated against an opponent who collided with his chest in a tackle. 

But faced with the psychological challenge of regaining his confidence as a central defender, he is hoping such confrontations won't happen again as he continues his quest to regain top fitness. 

Duffy continued: "In the first couple (of tackles) I was nervous - after bumps with the keeper and a couple of crosses. I'm just going to have to get on with it and hopefully my confidence will come back sooner rather than later.

"It’s not usually like me (to react) but I was lying on the ground and I got kneed where I'd just had the operation. But I apologised for it and hopefully he is alright. 

"My fitness is increasing every day - which is good for me, but I'll say maybe a couple more weeks and I should be reaching the other lads because they've had five games now. It's my first game back, so hopefully I can catch up with them and push on from there. 

"I'm just over the moon to be back on the pitch to be honest."