Aaron Cresswell is delighted to have made his return from a knee ligament injury despite picking up a red card in his first appearance of the season.

He looked sharp during his comeback before being given two harsh yellow cards in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.

While Cresswell was understandably disappointed by being sent off, the left-back remained positive after a result which ended a five game winless Premier League run.

“It was a rollercoaster game for me for me with a lot of ups and downs,” Cresswell told the West Ham website.

“I am a little bit disappointed to be sent off but it was great to be back with the lads and to get three points which were desperately needed.

“For me to sit inside and watch the final 15 minutes was very nervous and I am glad we held on to get the three points.”

Cresswell looked far from a player who has spent the best part of three months side-lined with injury and provided the assist for Manuel Lanzini’s winner.

His low delivery was pinpoint in its execution and the 26-yaer-old revealed the move which led to the goal was the product of preparation.

He said: “Thankfully I was able to set Manu up for the goal which was a great feeling and it is something we had worked on in training.

“Tonks (James Tomkinson) and the back four are all six foot plus and we only had Zaza up top with Manu and Dimi.

“I needed to put the cross in on the floor and it was a great finish from Manu. The main thing was to be involved with the lads and get the three points.”

The result, which was only the Hammers second win in the league this season, took them out of the relegation zone and up to 15th in the table.

Slaven Bilic’s side lived dangerously at times and were fortunate to see Christian Benteke skew a first half penalty wide of the mark.

They will hope to build on the performance when Sunderland visit the London Stadium on Saturday in a match Cresswell will be suspended for.

Nonetheless, the former Ipswich man is confident his team-mates will match the battling performance which yielded three points at Selhurst Park in his absence.

“To come to Palace, which is one of the toughest places to come because the crowd are on top of you and there is a great atmosphere, and get three points is massive,” Cresswell said.

“I am delighted to be back playing and it is disappointing I cannot play against Sunderland next week.

“There is nothing I can do about that now and I am sure the lads will do well and take this victory into next week.”