Leighton Baines marked his comeback for Everton by scoring on his first appearance for six months.
The England international left-back, who has had two ankle operations, struck in a behind-closed-doors friendly as Everton beat Preston 4-3.
The 30-year-old, who first had surgery in May, was hurt again in training two days before the start of this season, meaning he had to go under the knife once more.
"It went numb straight away but I felt a little bit sick in my stomach. There wasn't a great deal of pain but there was numbness when the physio was putting his fingers into it," he told the Liverpool Echo. "And then, hours after, it had ballooned up."
He added: "The first operation, the ligaments had gone and he'd had to take off quite a lot of bone and restructure the surface.
"He had to reattach the ligaments but the second time, the repair had snapped but there was also another ligament as well, so that was a case of reattaching that ligament. There was no bone work this time but the timescale is the same.
"If I had just had bone work done then it would have only been six to eight weeks but if you have ligament work done then it's 12."
In Baines' absence, Everton manager Roberto Martinez has picked youngster Brendan Galloway and Costa Rica international Bryan Oviedo at left-back this season.
Everton host Aston Villa next but former Wigan defender Baines said he will not be rushed into making his comeback.
"I've just got to be patient now and not rush and not get frustrated if I'm a bit rusty for a few weeks," he added. "I need to take my time."