Christoph Zimmermann admitted his Norwich City team mates helped him through a landmark return from injury weeks ahead of schedule in the 2-0 victory at Everton.

Zimmermann renewed his Championship title winning double act alongside Ben Godfrey at the heart of a backline that secured a first away success of the season and only a second clean sheet.

Daniel Farke hailed his compatriot as an ‘unbelievable hero’ but the modest Zimmermann preferred to praise his pals.

“I felt a bit rusty to be fair in the first couple of minutes. I needed some time to get into the game to be fair,” he said, speaking to the club’s official site.

“But I think that’s normal. My last 90 minutes was Villa away last season which was six months ago. I didn’t expect any miracles and I knew I wouldn’t feel fresh and sharp from the beginning.

“I was happy that the lads have been brilliant and supportive of me. They didn’t give me and hard or difficult situations to handle.

“Therefore, I could ease myself into it and after 20 minutes, I felt really good and comfortable being alongside the guys I won promotion with.”

City’s first win in eight was a perfect response to those preparing the Canaries’ Premier League obituary.

“We have lost six of our last seven, but I’d have never said it was because we didn’t want it or we didn’t leave our hearts on the pitch,” he said.

“There were various other reasons that we’ve been trying to analyse over the international break but the mentality and the work ethic we put into it has never been in doubt.

“We’ve just shown that reaction. I was pleased the result matched our performance. We had the better chances in the first-half but to be fair, Everton were also dangerous. We were happy that we kept a clean sheet through that and we were then able to build on that in the second-half.

“We improved a bit more. There were a few instances early in the second-half when we had to dig deep, block shots and throw our bodies on the line.

“We scored the first goal at a good time and the second goal at an even better time.”