Ryan Strain said it was "amazing" to be back out on the pitch after making his long-awaited return from injury.
The 26-year-old made his comeback as a starter in Saturday's 1-1 draw away to Motherwell in the cinch Premiership.
It's been a long road back for the Australian international having been on the sidelines since November after suffering a serious groin injury while on Socceroos duty.
Speaking to St Mirren TV after playing the first 45 minutes of Saturday's match, Ryan said: "It was amazing.
"It's tough when you are injured but being back with the lads all day was great for me and I can't wait for the next match.
It's been a long four months but it was really good to get 45 minutes under my belt.
"I've come off a long injury so I have to get my fitness back and hopefully I can play longer next time out. You can run as much as you want in training but match fitness is big so I can't wait to get more games under my belt and get back to it."
Ryan Strain during Saturday's match (Image: Jeff Holmes)
My body feels good, it feels strong," he continued.
"I've been doing a lot of gym work. Credit to Gerry [Docherty] and Gary [McColl] who have put in the work with me. As I said, I can't wait to play more games and get my match fitness up.
"I don't think we played our best but it's a point towards the top six. It's a tough place to come so we take the point and go into Hearts confident."
It's Hearts up next for Saints in our final home match before the split and Ryan is looking forward to playing in front of the home support at The SMiSA Stadium.
I can't wait to play in front of the fans again.
"They've been brilliant this year home and away so hopefully it'll be a big turn out again."
Ryan scored the winner the last time Hearts visited The SMiSA Stadium (Image: Allan Picken)
