Sam Byram says he is enjoying his football again after recovering from the injury lay-offs which made last season a frustrating one for the full-back.

The 21-year-old is already just nine games short of equalling his 2013/14 tally of 27 United appearances and has established himself as a key part of Neil Redfearn’s side this year.

"I’ve had a good run of games now and I feel back to full fitness and getting back to how I like to play," said the right-back.

The Thorp Arch graduate won the penalty which Billy Sharp converted - his second goal of the season - to secure a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest last Saturday as United picked up an encouraging point on the road.

"It was good for Billy to get a goal, I’m sure that will do good for his confidence. I was happy to be involved with that, said Byram.

"I think it was a good away point and a good away performance against a team who are doing well.

"They’ve got a lot of good players and it’s a tough place to go and play. A lot of the boys were happy with that point.

"We’ve been doing well at home and picking points up at home but we knew we needed to improve our away form, so it’s a good step in the right direction."

Redfearn hailed Lewis Cook as “the best player on the pitch by a mile” at the City Ground and Byram believes his fellow Academy product is in good hands at United.

"He’s getting all the praise he deserves," the full-back said. "We’ve known about him since he was younger so it was only a matter of time before he burst onto the scene.

"He’s playing out of his skin and he’s an important part of the team.

"I’m sure everyone in the Premier League will know about him but with Redders in charge, he’s going to be playing pretty much week-in, week-out. That’s experience he might not get elsewhere."

Byram was speaking at the annual pre-Christmas visit to the Leeds Children’s Hospital at the LGI, as the United squad surprised young patients by delivering gifts on Monday afternoon.

He said: "A lot of the kids are in the LGI over Christmas, so if we can come and give them a few presents, it’s nice to try and put a smile on their faces.

"It shows you what’s important. Health is the main thing in life and seeing some of the kids that aren’t doing too well, it is a sad time. But it’s nice to come and try to cheer some of them up."