RELIEVED Mikel Arteta admits it had been so long since his last Everton appearance that he had almost forgotten how to put on a pair of shinpads.

But David Moyes has sought to calm the elation of Arteta’s return by revealing the player is still at least a month away from full fitness.

The Spanish midfielder made his long-awaited comeback for the Goodison outfit with a 14-minute run-out as a substitute in the 2-1 FA Cup defeat at home to Birmingham City on Saturday.

It was his first appearance since sustaining serious knee ligament damage at Newcastle United last February.

And Arteta said: “I have been away for a long time. I’ve been training hard to get back. I was feeling a bit strange on the pitch but I was so excited just to be on the bench.

“When you are injured and been out so long, it takes a lot of getting used to – the distances, the pace, even things like putting your shinpads on, you have to think about because you’ve been out for so long.

“But I was so excited, I couldn’t wait to get on the pitch. I couldn’t wait to play. On Friday night I was so nervous, I was speaking to my missus until late.

“You feel unusual sitting on the bench, having the warm up. I was asking myself ‘am I ready?’ and you never know until you are on the pitch.

“But we didn’t get the result we wanted. We wanted a long run in the FA Cup again, but for me personally it has been a good day because hopefully the bad days are behind me now.”

Arteta received a huge ovation from the Goodison faithful when he replaced Landon Donovan in the 76th minute and his first few touches of the ball were also met with raucous cheers.

And the Spaniard has praised the level of backing from both the fans and the club during his rehabilitation.

“The reaction from the fans when I came on was a beautiful moment for me,” said Arteta. “But the supporters have been great all the time I was out, I have had so many, many letters. When you are out, sometimes the fans can forget about you, but they gave me a great reception.

“The club and supporters have been terrific to me. The club have allowed me and all the other injured players the freedom to do what we were more comfortable with to help us recover.”