"I thought I could have gone on a little bit more but it was agreed before with the manager that I would play for just 65-70 minutes," Gardner told the official Spurs website.
"I felt good, there's a little bit of stiffness, but that is to be expected. It was a nasty tear to my hamstring, but a good job was done with the treatment and rehabilitation.
"I wanted to play and tested it out before, but this was a competitive game and it felt good.
"I started training with ball in the group last week and the week before I was running.
"When I come back from injury I tend to get back in the swing of things fairly quickly. Most of the time after an injury there are games around the corner for me to look forward to.
"There are a few before the end of the season so hopefully I can get myself in a fit enough condition to be considered for a place."