Paceman Mark Wood has admitted he thought his chances of playing for England again might have gone due to persistent injury problems.
When it was announced in October he would need a third operation on his left ankle in 12 months, Wood feared his international career might be cut short.
But the 27-year-old Durham man is back on song again and clean bowled Paul Stirling on Friday as he helped England to a seven-wicket win over Ireland.
"It's not something that I thought at times would happen, over the winter," said Wood. "I thought the dream was gone at times.
"When you try and rush back, and it's not happening at the speed you want it to, you think 'Is it ever going to happen again?'"
Wood returned last summer after his first two operations, and impressed against Pakistan in four ODIs. But the pain, and further surgery, was soon back, leaving him without any Test action since October 2015, and an uncertain future.
"I'm absolutely delighted to be back," he added. "I had questioned at times whether I would actually ever play for England again.
"After the first two operations, I always believed I would get back. But then this one, because (the recovery) didn't happen at the same rate as it did previously, I was a little bit unsure if I would ever get back to the standard I wanted to set and the pace I wanted to bowl at.
"But to be back for the first game (of the summer), in hindsight if I had looked at it like that - 'I'll get back for the first England game' - I would have been over the moon and sort of took your hand off."
Following his return, Wood is hopeful he can perform for his country for a few years to come now.
"It's just getting used to those workloads again," he said. "I would say (it's the end of) major ankle trouble. I wouldn't say it's honestly ever going to be totally pain-free, it's just going to flare up from time to time.
"I'm pretty confident now I could get through any sort of international cricket be it Test, one-day or Twenty20. I'm held together with Sellotape pretty well."