RYAN TAYLOR has admitted he had to survive two years of "injury hell" in order to make a remarkable return to action in Wednesday night's Capital One Cup victory over Manchester City.

Taylor made his first appearance since August 2012 as he helped Newcastle claim their first ever win at the Etihad Stadium, with successive cruciate knee ligament injuries putting his playing career on the line.

Having overcome the first cruciate injury, Taylor suffered a recurrence of the problem as he attempted to build up his fitness on the training ground at the start of last season.

He was forced to sit out the whole of the campaign, but having battled his way back to full fitness for the second time in 12 months, he was finally rewarded with a first-team outing on Wednesday.

His performance could hardly have been better as he impressed in both midfield and the back four, robbing Fernandinho of possession to set up Rolando Aarons' opener before producing producing a fantastic goalline clearance to ensure Newcastle protected their clean sheet late in the game.

Having been cheered to the rafters by the supporters in a packed away end, the 30-year-old then found himself serenaded by Newcastle's players and coaches when he returned to the dressing room after the end of the game, with the satisfaction at his return accentuated by the traumas he had to overcome to get there.

"For me, to play football again is a dream come true," said Taylor. "I've had two years of hell, so to play at this level again, with this team, for this manager, in front of these fans; it means the world to me.

"I was last back in (to the dressing room) and they were all singing my song. That was fantastic and meant so much. It tells you everything you need to know about the people at this club and the spirit in that dressing room.

"I never had any doubt I could still do it. Self-confidence and self-belief has never left me, and I know what I can do.

"My game is still there. I just had to make sure I never lost patience or heart. And to play again is a dream come true.

"There's a list of people as long as my arm who I could thank but those people know, especially my wife and kids, who have been fantastic throughout all of this. Everything I did was all for them."

Having been told he would part of the squad that travelled to Manchester on Tuesday, Taylor did not expect to be starting at the Etihad.

With Alan Pardew keeping his cards close to his chest, the starting line-up was not revealed until a couple of hours before kick-off.

Taylor had to do a double-take when he saw his name, and another deep breath was required when he realised he would not be coming off to be substituted in the closing stages of the game.

"I didn't even know I was playing until just before we left the hotel to travel to the game. I thought at best I may come on and get half-an-hour, and just get some minutes under my belt.

"But when I saw the team written down in the meeting, that's when the butterflies came and the realisation and excitement started.

"I tried not to get myself too worked up or over-hyped. I just remained calm. But to make my comeback against the Premier League champions on their home turf was an unbelievable feeling.

"However, when I saw the manager make his final two substitutions my calves suddenly went very tight. That was the moment my legs shouted 'uh-oh' and I realised I was playing the full 90 minutes, or possibly 120.

"I didn't want to go off though. When you miss that much football, to play again, you don't want to leave the pitch. But having not played at this level for more than two years, I was exhausted and with five minutes to go my legs had gone. I'm just glad I got through it."

The result was Newcastle's third success in succession, and set up a Capital One Cup quarter-final at Tottenham in mid-December.

"If you stay patient against good players you will get chances, and that's what happened," Taylor told Newcastle United's official website. "And we took our chances, too. I know we got a bit of luck but when you play against teams like Manchester City you have to earn the right to get a bit of luck, and we did that.

"The game plan worked so well, and for Rolando (Aarons) to come up with the goods so early on was a big confidence boost to everyone. We realised we could score against, and beat this team.

"We had to show our defensive qualities then, and did it for the whole game. And then to go 2-0 up, when the big man (Moussa Sissoko) came off the bench and did what he did best, it just summed up our performance."