Cove Rangers stalwart Ryan Strachan feels he is getting back to his best again after being laid low by Covid-19.
The defender missed most of September after his partner and then himself tested positive for the virus, which left him bed-ridden for nearly a week.
He has also been troubled by an Achilles problem, which meant he had not played any meaningful part for Cove since the defeat to Clyde at the end of August.
Strachan finally made his return to competitive action last weekend, coming on as a half-time substitute in the 4-2 defeat to East Fife.
He said: “I’ve had a rough seven or eight weeks. I was flu-ey at the start of September and I was doing regular home PCR tests, which were negative.
“I had about a week or two of that then my partner comes down with Covid. We’re not sure where it came from but it made me then have to isolate with someone who was positive.
“The inevitable happened and I became positive, so that was another two weeks of isolation. I came back and did a couple of training sessions but got a niggle in my Achilles.
“I wasn’t in a position where it (Covid) was severe enough to be in any worry. But I had a lot of symptoms; my partner was fine throughout but I was bed-ridden for about five days.
“I couldn’t get rid of the sore head, had a fever, my sinuses were blocked, bones were aching. The fatigue was extreme for about two weeks, so it was bad.
“Once I was out of isolation and completely negative, I was still struggling a bit with fatigue and minor breathing issues. But we’ve got the doc on site and the fitness coach was good with me – we broke things in easily.
“It still took a couple of weeks afterwards to build it up and recover. The virus attacks the lungs and they’re a key part of fitness. You need to take it slow and steady and that’s what we’ve done.”
Strachan’s last start for Cove was against Clyde at the end of August, the same opponent they face at the Balmoral Stadium this weekend.
“I’ve been unlucky the last seven weeks but last weekend wasn’t the best situation to be coming on, to be honest,” he added. “We were chasing a game at 3-0 down. We weren’t playing well and it’s not a game you want to be coming on to.
“Hopefully we can get a settled team, everyone can get fit and the manager gets the opportunity to get his best team on the pitch. It’s not something he’s probably had this season but we’re still sitting in a decent enough position for the problems we’ve had.
“The results have been good but the performances haven’t been great. It’s something we’re looking to rectify in training.
“We’re more than aware that every game in this league is a challenge, especially away from home. If we can get consistent form home and away then there’s a good chance for us in the league, as it’s there for the taking this season.”