Formartine United’s Hamish Munro has targeted a new year return almost two years after discovering he was playing with a broken ankle.
Midfielder Munro, who can also play in defence, won back-to-back championship medals with Buckie Thistle between 2009-11, but has not made an appearance since midway through last season having played through the pain barrier the previous year.
Munro said: “I picked up the injury two seasons ago in a home game against Turriff United in March 2014, during my first season at Formartine.
“When Gary McGowan came at me I just slipped, there was an impact on the side of my ankle and it has been sore ever since. I played on with the injury, the pain was only just manageable, it went straight up my leg, through my calf and into my quad so I had to get it seen to.
“I went to Glasgow to see a surgeon in June. He gave me a MRI scan and they found a fracture.
“He felt it didn’t require surgery but that I’d have to rest for the next four months so, hopefully, it shouldn’t be much longer before I’m back training, certainly before the end of the year.
“I last played in our home game against Brora Rangers last April. Since then, I have been seeing a really good physio called Lindsay Smart. He has worked with quite a few football teams, including Dumbarton and Rangers’ youth team.
“I have been seeing him regularly and he really has been a great help, both physically and in giving mental support.”
The 29-year-old, who works with the SFA performance school in sports science, said he hates being a spectator, adding: “I just detest having to watch my team-mates going through their paces.
“But I know that, as I have had this injury for so long, I just can’t rush my return.
“I really have to make sure that I’m at 100% before getting back to training and, after that, playing.”