Ethan Pinnock delighted to be back for Brentford friendly against Reading | OneFootball

Ethan Pinnock was delighted to be back for Brentford in this week's friendly against Reading.

Pinnock missed preseason due to injury.

The game, which ended 1-1 after goals from Yakou Meite and Alex Gilbert, was a good chance for Ethan to build up some match fitness and get some minutes under his belt.

“It felt really good to be back out there," he told the club's website after the game.

“It's been a while but, yeah, it's good to just get used to positioning and getting a feel of the game, it's really good."

Reading's attack consisted of Yakou Meite and former England international Andy Carroll on Thursday - two physical centre-forwards - but Pinnock insisted that it was a good test for him - especially his aerial duels with Carroll.

“Yeah, I've played against them a few times previously and I think it's good. You know that they are big, strong physical strikers and it was a really good test," said Pinnock.

He added: "Their keeper was kicking it out long pretty much every time, so it was a good little battle and I got my head on quite a few balls, so my head is getting back used to it as well!"

Whilst the behind-closed-doors match was a good step in his recovery, Pinnock said that there is still plenty of work to do before he can make his Premier League return.

He said: “I have played a game but it's not a Premier League game, we're still building to get there.

“But, each training session and every day, I feel like I'm just getting closer to being back out there on the pitch in a proper fixture."