Simon Ramsden can finally talk from a position of experience once more.

Back in the saddle, back in the team and back in the thick of it.

After a year he describes as the hardest of his life, Ramsden is a month into his return to the City ranks.

The right back feels relevant again; a proper player. And his voice within the dressing room carries authority once more.

If missing match after match through his injuries wasn’t bad enough, Ramsden felt reluctant to chip in with any advice for the others. How could he tell younger team-mates what to do if he was unable to lead by example?

He said: “If you’re not playing, you can see them looking at you and thinking ‘you weren’t out there’. But if you’re in the game and you’re telling lads where they are going wrong, they will tend to listen a lot more.

“That’s a side of the game I missed so much last season. I was captain but it was very hard to get your opinions heard when you’re not involved.

“It’s lucky because we’ve got quite a few experienced lads, Andrew Davies and some others, who are good talkers.

“The young players like Nahki (Wells), who are still learning, can only benefit from being surrounded by players who can guide them through the game.

“It really helped me when I was a young lad at Sunderland. I remember going out on loan and the experience you learn from the older pros who’ve been there, seen it and done it really does benefit you in the long run.

“But I found it difficult to say too much when I wasn’t playing.”

Phil Parkinson is still handling Ramsden with kid gloves. His training pattern will be monitored for a few weeks yet as City ensure no risks are taken.

Ramsden was left on the sideline for last week’s JP Trophy exit at Oldham to rest a tight calf. But he was still in the dressing room before the game to chivvy the troops.

He had a right to be there as someone whose welcome comeback has made a difference to the Bantams back four.

Ramsden said: “Being out on that pitch makes a massive difference to my overall happiness. Everyone knows how hard last year was for me.

“The last few results have been fairly decent and it’s nice to feel I’m contributing.

“Strangely enough, the best I’ve felt was probably at Sheffield United, which was my first one back. That was probably down to adrenaline.

“We’re being cautious for now because of how long I was out for. We’re careful through the week with what training I do and it seems to be paying off.

“In the long run that will change and I’m sure once I’ve played about ten games I’ll probably train a lot more. At the minute, it’s taking small steps in the right direction.”

Saturday’s draw with Plymouth was Ramsden’s fifth appearance but he is understandably careful about making any predictions. For someone who played just once in 15 months, he is happy to live for the moment.

Ramsden, who turns 30 on Saturday, said: “Quite a lot of people did write me off last season and thought I wouldn’t come back.

“They couldn’t see the hard work I was putting in behind the scenes to get myself fit and to have setback after setback was unbelievably difficult.

“But I’m still here and every time I go out there now, I really want to do well and show that I’m still the same player.

“I’d love to train every day and play every match but it’s still a balancing act. I had an extra few days’ rest around the Oldham game and it’s about being sensible.

“The Christmas schedule is quite spaced out. We don’t have another game for ten days after (Southend on) Friday, which is ideal for me to keep ticking over.

“Most of the year has been the hardest of my life, it’s been a write-off. But hopefully I can end it on a high and then see if we can kick on after that.”

After all his trials and tribulations, Ramsden will have earned the final say.