Bristol City midfielder Korey Smith came through the full 90 minutes for the Robins' under-23 side on Monday when playing away to Crystal Palace, securing a 2-1 win for the visitors.

The longest serving member of the Robins squad has been out with injury since April after suffering two broken bones in his foot and a torn ligament, sustained during the Championship clash with Reading.

The midfielder has been on a long road to recovery since, having recently stepped back out on to the grass before crossing the white line for the Robins during a couple of under-23 games as he steps up his recovery from injury.

Having featured in just six first-team games since the start of the 2018-2019 season, having undergone knee surgery in August 2018 which also derailed the start to his season, Smith will now have his eyes firmly set on playing in a first-team environment again.

The 28-year-old has not long stepped back into a first-team environment as he has begun training with the Robins senior squad again, as well as working hard in the gym over recent months to rebuild his fitness and get a feel for daily life training again.

Smith will have been pleased to avoid any injury setbacks over the last couple of weeks as he will continue to build up his own personal confidence.

The central midfielder has a ball back at his feet again, and he will be looking forward to trying to force his way back into the first-team squad at Ashton Gate and play a big part in their hopeful run to the play-offs at the end of the season.

Having missed a lot of senior football over the past year-and-a-half, the moment that Smith steps back out at Ashton Gate in front of 20,000 fans will be a moment that he will be entirely focused on, to give himself that self-motivation again.

No injury setbacks since April up until this point will have been one of the best bits about his recovery for Smith, but he will know that he still has a long way to go if he is to be considered for a starting spot within a very good City midfield again.