Chris Kane has vowed he is ready to help Dunfermline end their losing streak after playing it safe with his injury this summer.
After a successful loan from St Johnstone last season, the striker penned a permanent deal with the Pars during the close-season.
But the 29-year-old had managed just 45 minutes of action in friendlies or competitive matches before stepping off the bench against Falkirk on Saturday.
He brought more focus to the Fifers’ attack but could not prevent them going down to a bitterly disappointing 2-0 defeat to the Bairns.
However, Kane is determined to prove his injury troubles are now behind him to boost James McPake’s struggling side.
“I just had a wee nick on [my ankle] and it was one of those where you are not sure if you are ready,” he explained.
“You try and it’s not quite ready. You just have to manage it and I had to make sure it was right before I came back.
“I could have gambled last week [against Livingston] but we decided not to so I could make sure that I was ready for this game.
“It is really hard, you want to play football, that’s all you want to do. Sometimes you can play through wee niggles.
Kane: ‘Feeling good now’
“But I have learned that it’s probably best to make sure that you are 100 per cent before you get back out there.
“That’s what we decided, that’s what we did. I’m feeling good now and I just need to work on some fitness, and hopefully I can get back in the team.”
Kane has confessed his troubles at Saints, where knee and calf issues kept him sidelined for a 16-month stretch, have given him a different perspective on injury lay-offs.
“The last two years that I had at St Johnstone were horrible,” he admitted. “It wasn’t just the one big injury, it was a couple of wee ones after it
“You learn as you get older that you need to manage your body. I’m not as fit as those young ones now but you need to manage your injuries.
“Everyone gets them so it’s just a case of making sure that you are fit before you get back playing.”
A sixth-minute strike from Ross MacIver instantly punctured Dunfermline’s already-fragile confidence against Falkirk and Callumn Morrison’s late penalty sealed the Bairns’ victory.
“It was one of those games,” said Kane. “They scored early and that helps them and maybe knocks us a wee bit.
“The boys did well. They are a good side and we battled away. We created chances and on another day we could maybe have got one in the first-half to equalise.
Kane: ‘We will turn it around’
“Then it would have been a completely different game. But there wasn’t too much between the two sides and on another day we could go and win that.
“It is early in the season. When you look at where we are in the league, you just have to take it every game.
“It’s a great bunch of boys, I noticed that from the first day I came in, and obviously the fans got behind us. It was a great support from them.
“Hopefully they will keep coming, keep supporting us. We will do our best out there and we will turn it around.”
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