ANDREW Tutte insists he will only need a couple more games before he will be back to his brilliant best after recovering from a serious hamstring injury.

The 25-year-old tore his hamstring tendon in the 3-1 victory at Sheffield United in September and has been sorely missed in the heart of the midfield ever since.

After a four-month absence, the Manchester City youth-team graduate is back among the first-team set-up, managing 68 minutes against Fleetwood the previous weekend before completing almost 100 minutes against Bradford.

Tutte gave everything on the pitch and struggled to lift his tired and cramped body on to the stool in the press room following Saturday's 0-0 draw, but once he did he explained how good it felt to be so close to returning to full fitness.

“It's fine now and it feels stronger," he said. "Once my legs come back and I have my stamina I'll feel stronger and fitter.

“Without fitness and stamina your legs go to jelly.

"It takes a couple of games to get fit but once a couple of games kick in I'll be okay.

“I tore my hamstring tendon, 80 per-cent was torn and it nearly came off the bone so it was a bad one. It's 14 weeks it took (to repair).

“Sometimes when I'm watching the lads it's frustrating on the side but that's just part and parcel of football and you've just got to get on with it.”

Tutte faces stiff competition in central midfield with a host of team-mates vying for the same position.

Tom Soares, Kelvin Etuhu, Danny Pugh and Jacob Mellis are all providing healthy competition, which Tutte believes is driving up the playing standards.

The former Rochdale man also claimed that Saturday's game against Bradford epitomised exactly why he loves playing football.

“It keeps you on your game,” he added. “It's a good thing. If you haven’t got competition you can slack off a bit so it's a good thing for the players.

“The lads just get on with it. If they are not starting they just support the lads who are on the pitch.

“It was a bit like an away game with fans both sides (of the stadium) but once you get playing you just focus on the pitch and you blank everything out.

“I looked over once and there was smoke on the side, it's what you play football for and they're the games you love.

“Anything can happen in the FA Cup and we have just got to concentrate on Bradford now and we look forward to that and focus on getting through to the next round.”