Hull City's Angus MacDonald turned out for the club's under-23s side on Friday, 556 days after his last appearance for the Tigers. 

The 27-year-old has battled two serious setbacks since 2018 when he first saw a blood clot in his calf see him ruled out for pretty much all of the 2018-2019 season.

At the start of the current campaign, MacDonald was diagnosed with the early stages of bowel cancer, where the centre-back successfully overcame his second health scare, being given the all-clear back in December.

On Friday, 556 days after he last turned out for Hull, MacDonald featured for 60 minutes in an under-23's game against Birmingham City.

Speaking to the club's media channels on Monday, the 27-year-old reflected on his first appearance for the side in over 18 months: "There’s been a lot of work done behind closed doors and I’m just delighted to have made it back onto the pitch. It just felt so good to be back wearing the kit again.

"It’s been a long 556 days and I’ve had to wait so long for the opportunity to do what I love doing the most again – playing football," the 27-year-old explained.

Speaking of his first appearance in 556 days, MacDonald said: "I felt fresh for the time I was on the pitch and it was great to get an hour under my belt. It was just good to be involved in a game-situation again.

"It was frustrating that I couldn’t help the lads pick up a win, but I’ll take the positives from the game from a personal perspective and move on from there.”

Speaking of his aim from now until the end of the season, the centre-back added: "My aim is to keep getting fitter and fitter every day and hopefully be back in the first-team before the end of the season, playing in the Championship would be the dream for me this season."

The former Barnsley man has not turned out for the Hull City first team since the 28th April 2018, when Hull faced Cardiff City.

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The Verdict 

I don't think it will just be Hull City fans who will be delighted to hear MacDonald has managed to complete some minutes on a football pitch, following an unimaginable time off it.

The 27-year-old has been inspirational in his fight against cancer, and his determination to get back onto the football pitch and do what he loves doing should be applauded by everyone.

As for the playing side of things, Hull find themselves precariously close to the Championship relegation zone, and should MacDonald be able to turn out for the first team this term, fans and players will be hoping they can draw on his inspiration and beat the drop.