Leeds United midfielder Ilia Gruev has admitted his injury prognosis came as a nasty shock but he shares in the universal surprise at his speedy return.

The Bulgarian international damaged his knee in the October 1 game against Norwich City, which presented Daniel Farke with a midfield headache because Ethan Ampadu also picked up a serious knee injury just days earlier. Ampadu was expected to be out for around 10 weeks, while Farke was cautious to place a timeframe on Gruev’s return because his problem required surgery. The club were speaking in terms of months rather than weeks for Gruev and a comeback was not anticipated until the season had entered its run in.

According to Farke, Gruev’s initial feeling was that he could probably play through the pain, so the news that he needed to go under the knife was a significant blow.

“The first moment they told me how long I’m going to be out, it was a bit shock - a very big shock, because I didn’t think it was going to be that long,” he said, speaking to the club’s matchday programme. “Then I was told I have to have surgery and be on crutches and everything. This was very tough for me. Sadly, it’s a part of the business. It’s part of football and it can happen to anybody. But it’s the first time in my life that it happened to me. Still, it was only three months out, but it was tough. Also during the rehab, when you do always a lot of the same stuff, it was hard. But you know why you are doing this and you have to be disciplined and you have to stay as positive as you can.”

Farke first hinted of an earlier-than-expected return for Gruev in the days leading up to the FA Cup clash with Harrogate Town and then named the midfielder in the matchday squad. Gruev was able to come off the bench for a brief cameo and Farke later said he had been surprised by the player’s sharpness in training. Sunday’s win over Sheffield Wednesday presented a chance for further involvement, with Gruev getting 20 minutes of action. The player himself was optimistic but returning to the pitch this soon was the best-case scenario.

“I was a little bit surprised because I expected the best outcome would be 12 or 13 weeks,” he said. “This would be the best thing, and we did that. Just 13 weeks was the whole rehab so it was a really good outcome. Of course, I tried everything in terms of sleep, my nutrition and everything that I could do. It’s really nice that I’m so quickly back, but not only to be back, also to have a good feeling and to feel really good in myself again.”

Gruev is in contention for more game time on Wednesday night when Leeds host Norwich City. He enjoyed what he calls a ‘career highlight’ against the Canaries with that free-kick goal in last season’s play-offs, and then suffered a low point at Carrow Road this term. At Elland Road he expects an opposition who play good football. “I remember they were good games to watch also last season with a lot of tactics,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a nice game to watch. But of course we want to be dominant. We want to put pressure on them from the first minute to the end. We play at home where we have such an unbeaten run and we want to continue.”