James Chester has revealed he may have put his career in jeopardy by playing on through injury when Aston Villa had no central defenders to replace him.
The Wales international continued to make himself available for Dean Smith before Christmas despite being in serious pain from a knee problem.
An injury to Axel Tuanzebe meant Smith had no other options, with Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause only arriving in January, and Chester wanted to help.
Chester, who played every minute of every Championship game for Villa from signing in 2015 until a red card last October, has not featured since January after Smith allowed him time to recover from the issue.
The 30-year-old, Villa's club captain, lifted the play-off final trophy with Jack Grealish and is back in training but taking progress gradually.
'It's certainly tough not playing, if you're not involved you quickly feel like you're not a part of things,' he said. 'You're having your own battles trying to get fit.
'Looking at the last three years personally I've been a really big part of what this club has achieved and I'm really proud of that.
'It's been tough and really painful at times but it's just how I've been brought up at home. I felt it was my duty as such to continue, being the only centre half.
'I've damaged my body indefinitely. It's something I'm going to have to manage for the rest of my career. It is what it is, I'm a professional.
'Hopefully I can look after it and play for as long as possible.'
Chester, who has played 32 games for club and country this season, was due for a new contract during the campaign but talks were out on hold. The former Manchester United academy graduate has one year left this summer and is a firm fan favourite after providing steel and leadership in the back line for three years. He watched the 2-1 win over Derby at Wembley from the stands.
'I've been training for the last six weeks. It's a case of managing what I do,' he added. 'I'm feeling better and better as the weeks go on. The break over the summer will hopefully do me well and I can come back and give it a go next season.
'I'm pleased with how it's gone. I was pleased to be back training before the end of the season with what I'd done.
'I've always looked after myself well and hopefully I can continue to do that and give myself the best chance possible.
'I'm certainly proud of the achievement personally and with what the lads have achieved.'
Chester signed for Villa from West Brom in an £8million deal in 2015 under Roberto Di Matteo before playing under Steve Bruce and Smith. He said the club's promotion had been 'a long time coming.'
Chester added: 'All of us that signed in that summer hoped to do this a little bit earlier than we have done. You see the support - and the support we've had over the last three years - it deserves to be in the Premier League.
'It was a tough watch. I didn't really want to look to be honest. I thought we started the game well and then Derby came back into it - but we scored at a really good time.
'Once we got the second goal I thought we'd maybe go on and score a couple more. To Derby's credit, they came strong in the last few minutes and made it hard for us. It certainly made it very nervy.'