Daniel MacKay knew absence would only be short-term – but time injured was still frustrating
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Daniel MacKay says he immediately knew his recent injury was not as serious as it could have been.
The winger went down unchallenged against Hamilton in October and needed to be carried off, not putting any weight on one leg, suggesting it could keep him out for a long time.
However, around a month later, he returned to action against Stirling Albion in the Scottish Cup.
MacKay was pleased to get back on the pitch, and revealed that from his own experiences with injury he did not expect to be on the sidelines for months this time around.
“I went to change direction like I normally do to go up another gear and sprint, and my knee locked up on me,” he recalled.
“It was just my luck that it happened when I was starting to play really well again.
“If they’d had to operate it would have been about 16 weeks, but it was good news, so I was pleased to get back out there on Saturday and play a small part in us winning the game.
“I didn’t think it was too bad at the time. I did my meniscus in my first year after going full time, and I didn’t think anything of it because it unlocked straight away.
“Then towards the end of that year I started to feel long-term effects of it, and that’s when I had to get surgery.
“I kind of thought it would be that, but I hoped it wouldn’t be as bad – and thankfully the scan showed that it wasn’t.”
MacKay was by no means alone on the treatment table, with head coach Billy Dodds at times missing a full team’s worth of players.
“That was the worst thing, because after 10 days I actually felt quite good,” MacKay added.
“I told the physio that I wanted to help, but I got pulled back because it was too much risk. We needed to manage it properly and do the right rehab, but it was frustrating.
“I got injured, then Robbie Deas broke his leg about three days later, so it became tough for me mentally – and it was tough for a lot of the boys.
"I wanted to help the team massively but I had to look after myself first and foremost.”
