Ross County midfielder Martin Woods dragged himself out of his sick bed to play an hour of Monday’s 1-0 defeat by Aberdeen.
The 28-year-old was hit by a sickness and diarrhoea bug in the build-up to the match but declared himself fit for the visit of the Dons.
Having not completed a pre-season after leaving Barnsley in the summer, Woods has been attempting to build up his fitness since joining the Staggies last month.
Although admitting he struggled to cope with his illness during Monday night’s match, Woods is confident it will be just a minor obstacle in his bid to command a regular berth in the Staggies midfield.
He said: “There are a couple of guys feeling a bit under the weather. It’s bad timing but we just had to get on with it. I told the manager at half-time how I was feeling. It wasn’t ideal but I had to stay out and get on with it.
“Although I didn’t feel well, I felt I was coming into the game just before I came off. I was starting to get on the ball as I like to do. The manager just said I had to come off when I was feeling like that, though.
“I had to take a couple of weeks to try and get fit. I had no pre-season and that set me back.
“However, fitness-wise I feel good now, barring my illness which is just a little setback.
“It’s only a 24-hour bug but I couldn’t have picked a worse 24 hours to get it. I’m really looking forward to kicking on here.”
Former Leeds United and Sunderland player Woods had spent his entire career playing in England but revealed he had options to join other Scottish sides in the summer.
After speaking with County manager Jim McIntyre and assistant Billy Dodds, the Airdrie-born midfielder was convinced the Staggies were the right fit for him.
Woods added: “I was always focused on playing in England but the chance to come up the road had popped up before. I had an opportunity with a couple of teams in the Premiership this summer but the manager and assistant here really sold it to me.
“The manager’s training is intense.
“Sometimes it knocks you a wee bit – you can be gasping for air. But that’s what I needed.
“So it’s been excellent in that sense, it’s been easy to catch up because I’ve had that two weeks of good training.”