Aidan Connolly is “feeling good” after six months on the sidelines at Raith Rovers.
The 28-year-old damaged his ankle ligaments last season and played through it, with the squad already down to the bare bones.
He has been available for a month and his manager spoke recently about his hesitation in throwing him into a tight match for his return.
It meant Connolly had to wait until the visit of Dundee United for his first minutes of the season and Cliftonville the week after for his first start.
“I’d basically shattered my ankle, so I was out for six months,” he said.
“I’ve been back a bit maybe a month, I feel good.
“The boys have been doing well. If I’m not playing, I’m not playing. I’ll just keep working hard and hopefully eventually I’ll get a chance.
“But I can’t complain, the boys are playing well and the team is performing well together. So what will be, will be.”
Aidan Connolly: ‘I was feeling miles off it’
After one league defeat in eight, just two defeats in 16 in all competitions and an abundance of attacking options, it’s no surprise Connolly has had to be patient.
With injury ruling Jack Hamilton out this weekend and Jamie Gullan a doubt, perhaps Raith top scorer for the last two seasons is in line to be involved in this weekend’s Fife derby.
His appearances this season so far will have aided his chances, though he admits that he was struggling a little at the beginning of his first start.
He explained: “To be fair, at the start I was feeling miles off it, I felt like I wasn’t ready. But I had to remember that I was out for six months and it takes time.
“It’s going to take time, even now when I go back in, it’s going to take time before I get up and running.
“I’m dying to get on, I’ve been dying to play, but it’s the manager’s decision. If he doesn’t think I’m ready, then that’s his decision.
“I’m in a better place now, I feel that I’m more up to match fitness. So that’s a positive.”
Connolly calls for fan backing ‘no matter what’
The mood around Stark’s Park is positive at the moment, with another bumper crowd expected for Saturday’s visit of Dunfermline.
Connolly, who signed a new deal in the summer, said the support so far has been “brilliant”.
He urged the supporters to continue to back their team through the inevitable bumps in the road.
“The fans have been coming in their numbers,” he said. “The boys are seeing that and the boys are putting on the performances that they want as well.
“I think that’s why they keep coming back.
“But it’s a long season, there are going to be ups and downs. So far, there have been quite a lot of ups, not a lot of downs.
“But through a season, through experience, there are always downs as well.
“Hopefully the fans are with us all season no matter what happens.”
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