England and Manchester United defender Chris Smalling ready to put injuries behind him

Chris Smalling is ready to put his injury troubles behind him and help club and country to success this season.

The England and Manchester United defender has missed the majority of the campaign so far after suffering from a groin injury he picked up at the end of last season and then damaging his foot in pre-season.

But he made his return to first-team action in November and has been steadily building up his fitness and form at Old Trafford since then.

He said: "I feel good. I've been able to play a few games now and it's just a case of keeping that going.

"The more games you have, the more you get into a rhythm and the more confident you feel.

"I just want to stay injury-free now and hopefully go on a good run; there are lots of important matches coming up."

It's been even more frustrating for the 23-year-old as this has been the first time in his career that he's been sidelined for so long.

"It's been one of the worst (injury setbacks) I've had," he added. 

"It's never easy to miss the start of the season and then come back into it, but I'm fortunate that I've started to get back into the team.

"The main thing you focus on when you get back is getting into a rhythm.

"You've missed out while everyone has been playing and doing well so it makes you focus harder to get yourself back to being better than you were before."

The former Maidstone and Fulham player has won three England caps, after previously featuring for the U20s and Under-21s.