A BRUTALLY frank Kevin Kyle has admitted Saturday's return from an 18-month injury lay-off was a disaster from start to finish.

The Scotland international had feared he might never play football again after a failed hip operation left him in agony over the summer.

A second bout of surgery finally addressed the problem, though, and, after a lengthy period of recuperation, Kyle made his first senior outing since August 2004 in Sunderland's FA Cup defeat at Brentford.

With his hip withstanding the rigours of competitive first-team football, the striker's 61-minute outing could be described as a partial success.

But, with his own poor performance having contributed to an insipid team display, Kyle was able to draw little consolation from the end of his injury hell.

"We were all awful as a team, but I think my performance was particularly disappointing," said Kyle, who is unlikely to start tomorrow's Premiership home game with North-East rivals Middlesbrough.

"The hip is alright. There was no problem on that score - the only problem was trying to get a performance out of it.

"It didn't exactly go according to plan, but what do you expect? After 17 months out I can hardly expect to click straight back into the kind of form I would like.

"It's going to take games, it's going to take training and it's going to take time.

"I'll get there, but this wasn't a great day for either myself or for anyone in the team. I let myself down and the team let everybody down as well."

Kyle had proved his fitness with a goal in last week's reserves game against Blackburn and, after completing training on Friday, was asked by manager Mick McCarthy whether he felt ready to start at Griffin Park.

He answered in the affirmative but, after Sunderland crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of their League One opponents, the Stranraer-born striker was honest enough to admit that he may have been too hasty.

"The manager said to me 'It's going to be a scrap - do you feel confident enough to start?' I said yes but, maybe in hindsight, that was the wrong decision," said Kyle.

"Maybe I should have sat on the bench, let the lads get on with it, and come on for the final half-an-hour or so.

"I felt as though I could start the game and do well, but it didn't quite pan out that way.

"It's a god awful result, but it's a massive relief that I've got back to playing first-team football. In May, June and July of last year, I thought that was it. I was thinking about what I could do if I wasn't able to play football anymore."

While Kyle's general fitness did not present a problem, his reactions were understandably blunt after such a lengthy lay-off from the game.

Many of his attempted knock-downs went to opposition defenders, and he struggled to shake off the attentions of Brentford centre-half Sam Sodje.

"My touch and reaction isn't there yet," he admitted. "And I'm not really up to the speed of a game like that.

"I was happy with the way last Tuesday went in the reserves, but a reserves game is a million miles away from first-team football. Whether you're playing at Brentford or Manchester United, the two things are completely different.

"I felt fresh enough and fit enough, but didn't feel up to speed in terms of timing headers and laying balls off. It showed. I'm not saying the 17 months out is an excuse - but it's obviously not ideal."

Kyle's return could become even more important this week if Burnley step up their interest in Sunderland striker Andy Gray. The former Sheffield United frontman has started just two of the Black Cats' last 12 games and is being lined up by Burnley as a replacement for the recently-departed Ade Akinbiyi.