There aren’t many upsides to having 14 months of football taken away with a career-threatening injury.
But one of them is learning when not to rush a comeback.
Stevie May is now ready to make his first start of the season for St Johnstone against St Mirren this afternoon after being restricted to a short substitute appearance in the Perth side’s opening game of the new Premiership campaign, and another in their most recent one.
The desire to be on a pitch from the first whistle is just as strong now as it was before he severely damaged all three ligaments in his knee five years ago. But there’s also an appreciation of the importance of patience.
The way in which May’s body took to the return to training after months of lockdown meant the opening few weeks of 2020/21 have been more stop than start. Hopefully, though, that is about to change.
“I have had a few niggles but I’m feeling good now and ready to go,” said May.
“It has been a bit stop-start for me and it’s taken longer to get back into the swing of it.
“I am putting that down to the length of the break because of the lockdown.
“It was new to everyone because this has never happened before.
“We had programmes to follow but it wasn’t the same as regular training.
“Obviously we didn’t have access to gyms to do leg-work and keep your strength up.
“Usually we are in the gym twice a week, doing upper and lower body work. Doing stuff in the house isn’t the same.
“And my niggles have been with leg muscles. It was almost a shock to the system.
“You can’t afford to push it or you’ll have a set-back, do more damage and be out for longer.”
He added: “A couple of weeks ago we had a lengthy injury list but that has improved now.
“It has been frustrating but it is a minor blip compared to what I went through with the knee injury.
“That’s really the only serious injury I’ve had in my career.
“I’m at an age now when I know it isn’t wise to try and push through a niggling injury.
“This is definitely something I can deal with. I’ve only missed three games.”
With Murray Davidson also in the squad today, there will be no lack of experience in the home dressing as Saints aim to bounce back from two late McDiarmid defeats in a row.
“It is good to have Muzz available for the first time since January,” said May. “We are a bit short in there.
“He has been an important player since I was a young boy at the club.
“It will be a boost for the whole squad to have him back.
“I’m one of the senior pros myself now. It is a young squad and at 27 I do feel there’s an onus on me.
“We do have experience dotted about the squad and Craig Conway has added to that.
“The guys in the changing room who have been around a while can talk through things with the younger players.”
May’s second spell with Saints was starting to build momentum before the premature curtailment of last season, with seven goals to his name.
He doesn’t have a number in mind for this term but the general target is a straightforward one.
“For me personally I want to be getting goals,” said the former Aberdeen man.
“I had got five from the turn of the year. We were playing well and in good form.
“So it was frustrating for myself and the rest of the lads that the season had to be cut short.
“We have to pick-up again after disappointments against Aberdeen and Hibs. You just have to take it on the chin.
“It’s swings and roundabouts in football. We were on a high after a late win at Kilmarnock.
“We have to focus on the positives. We could have won both those games with a bit more luck on our side.
“Hopefully it will even itself out.”
May had particular sympathy last weekend for fellow forward Callum Hendry, whose barren start to the season should have come to an end with a first half header against Hibs that the assistant referee wrongly ruled out.
“If Cal’s goal hadn’t been disallowed it would have been a totally different game,” he said.
“It was frustrating for us all but especially for him as a striker doing his job. It would have been a game-changer.
“At the time I was surprised it had been ruled out. It’s not something that has happened to me all that much, being so blatant.
“The stats show that going ahead in games gives that team a great chance of going on to win.
“But we have shown that we are still in the game even if we do go behind.”
St Mirren turned out to be Saints’ penultimate opponents of last season. The Paisley personnel has changed a lot since then and Jim Goodwin’s side have made a good, seven-point, start.
“St Mirren are a tough, physical side that are hard to break down,” said May.
“We know what to expect from them.
“We have trained well so there are no excuses. We want to put in a good performance and hopefully we can get the job done.”
May believes the new backroom team at Perth has gelled together well, among them his old strike-partner Steven MacLean.
“It’s been good working again with Macca,” he said.
“He still gets his boots on now and again. He’s as keen as ever when he joins in the shooting drills.
“Macca, Eck (Alec Cleland) and the gaffer are the same. There’s a real desire for us to do well.
“We have a new way of playing but the signs are good already. We just need to take care of that final ball at the top end and I’m sure it will be another good season.”
