Danny Welbeck
Danny Welbeck says he struggled in his first start for Manchester United since recovering from a knee injury.

Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck has admitted he struggled somewhat in his first start for the side since coming back from a knee injury against Tottenham at the weekend.

Welbeck missed out on international duty with England due to the problem with his knee and at one stage David Moyes reportedly feared he may need surgery.

But he was able to make a comeback against Cardiff towards the end of last month, coming on for the final half hour, and at the weekend against Spurs he made his first start since 2 October, playing for an hour before being subbed off for Javier Hernandez.

And Welbeck revealed that he is not yet fully match-fit and will need to get some more games under his belt if he hopes to get back to his best.

"Unfortunately, after 60 or 70 minutes, my legs were gone as it was my first game back after two months and I started cramping up," he told the United website. "I wanted to get the winner but it didn't come this time. I need a couple more games. I have been out for two months and you need some games and more hard training sessions to get back into it."

Welbeck started the season well for United, looking to build on his tally from the 2012-13 campaign where he scored just two goals for the club. But so far the striker has scored just three times in this campaign and will be keen to get consistent game time again, particularly in the lead up to the 2014 World Cup.

The 23 year old also admitted to being disappointed with United's draw against Tottenham at the weekend, though he was pleased with the way the side reacted to twice going behind.

"Coming to White Hart Lane, we had the ability to come and win the game," he explained. "That was on our mind but unfortunately we gave away two goals. Credit to us, we quickly got the goals back afterwards. We are a bit disappointed but we can be happy with a point at the moment.

"After Wazza (Rooney) got the goal, we played some good football and moved the ball about. We gave away too many free-kicks which put us under pressure, so if we can limit ourselves from doing that then I'm sure we will be a lot better in future games."