Sean Welsh looking to force himself into Inverness Caley Thistle manager Duncan Ferguson's plans after one of the most frustrating injury spells of his career
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Sean Welsh admits his latest injury lay-off has been one of the most frustrating of his career.
The trip to Dunfermline earlier this month was the first time Welsh had been included in an Inverness Caledonian Thistle squad for a league game this season, and he returned to the starting line-up to play the vast majority of Saturday's Scottish Cup game against Cowdenbeath.
That was his first senior start since the League Cup group stage back in July, when the 33-year-old broke his nose against Dumbarton.
Concussion protocol automatically ruled him out for 10 days, but just as he was about to return against Dundee in the group stage he injured his groin.
Then, upon returning in the North of Scotland Cup against Nairn County, Welsh took a knock to his tailbone that forced him to spend even longer on the sidelines.
Another wrinkle to Welsh's rehabilitation has been that Duncan Ferguson was appointed ICT boss while he was on the treatment table, meaning the new manager is only just getting his first proper look at the experienced midfielder.
"It has been a lot longer than I anticipated, or wanted," Welsh admitted.
"No one likes being injured, especially after such a long period of time. It's even harder when a new manager comes in and you're not fit. You're always playing catch-up, which is never nice.
"It was frustrating – one of the most frustrating periods of my career, which has not been too kind to me in terms of injuries. I have always fought back and it takes mental strength.
"This one has been very frustrating, because it has been a lot longer than I anticipated.
"It's never nice when a new manager comes in and you're not fit. The gaffer came in and things happened right away and you're not there for him to see.
"When you do come back, you're not up to speed and you have missed months. He sees you at rusty spells.
"You have to build the momentum and catch back up. That's where I am at the at moment and hopefully I will get more opportunities to build momentum and get back into the swing of things."
Welsh only returned to full training in the days building up to the cup game against Cowdenbeath, but he has watched on as Caley Thistle rediscovered their confidence under Ferguson.
The midfielder can see the impact ICT's new manager has had even in a short space of time, and he is determined to go about proving himself to reclaim his place in the starting 11 – although he understands it will take some time to build up match sharpness again.
"It was good to get the minutes on Saturday – I was hanging in there at the end, and I was tired and a bit rusty in the game at times, but that was always going to happen given how long I had been out," Welsh explained.
"I was delighted to play as long as I did, because it's important to get as much as you can in the tank when you get the opportunity. I wanted to get rid of some of the rust and build some momentum again.
"You want the manager to have you in his thoughts, so it's up to me to keep working away and keep pushing to get in his plans.
"The boys have been great since the gaffer has come in – he wants to play football in tight areas and be confidence on the ball, which the boys have adapted to well and they have really picked up.
"You can see the boys are playing nice football and the confidence is growing amongst the group and they've been getting some really good results so the momentum has been building.
"The team are on the right trajectory and it is up to me to force my way into the team. I still have a bit to go in terms of fitness and sharpness, but I will keep working away in the background."
