St Johnstone striker Nicky Clark knows better than most what can go wrong if you push yourself too hard, too soon on the comeback trail.
The Perth forward has revealed he ended up breaking his leg in a bid to aid last season’s Premiership survival battle.
So, when boss Craig Levein has talked about managing Clark’s game-time and training workload, he can understand the caution at play.
“There were complications with the first injury,” the 32-year-old recalled.
“I’d had the same problem with my left ankle at Dundee United in the Covid season.
“I managed to get back really quickly then.
“It was the same injury, same surgeon.
“But with the situation we were in towards the end of last season, I maybe pushed it too quick to get back.
“That caused the screw to move and I got a fracture in my leg.
“It was a complete nightmare.
“I ended up getting that screw out so hopefully I won’t have any issues with it going forward.
“I tried to push it to help the team.
“The screw hadn’t completely set and when I was twisting and turning it’s obviously moved and cracked the tibula with the bone that the screw was through.”
MacLean’s last stand
A trip to Paisley brings back memories of Clark’s first game in nearly a year turning out to be Steven MacLean’s last as Saints manager.
“It was a tough one to take,” he said. “Macca losing his job was not nice.
“We have to take the responsibility for that. We were the ones on the pitch.
“Going back down there this time, hopefully we can make amends and get three points.
“I’d only played 60 minutes in a bounce game with the younger boys. It had been 10 months out.
“I’d managed to train for a few weeks, it hadn’t been a great start and Macca was trying to get me in the team so obviously I couldn’t say ‘no’.
“It didn’t go to plan.
“It was difficult trying to play without only those minutes in 10 months.
“This time it’s different. The injury wasn’t as bad and I’ve played more games recently.”
Clark believes he’s now in great shape for the Premiership run-in.
“I’ve trained just about every day since the break,” he said.
“I’m feeling good and hopefully I’ll get a chance to show that against St Mirren.
“I can understand the manager taking it easy with me.
“But I want to show what I can do and score as many goals as possible.”
Four games, four managers
Clark’s name will crop up in pub quizzes, having played four games in a row under four different managers.
That speaks to a period of flux at McDiarmid Park.
But he now believes strong foundations have been put down to restore stability.
“I saw that stat,” said Clark. “It’s wild, crazy.
“Callum (Davidson), then I got injured, Macca, one with Eck (Alex Cleland) and then the gaffer now.
“The gaffer and Kirky (Andy Kirk) have come in, changed a lot and hopefully things are looking up.
“It feels stable now. I think you can see that with the performances on the pitch.
“A couple haven’t been great since the break but in general there’s been a lift.
“When you look back at this club, they’ve always been hard to beat.
“That’s what we need, first and foremost.
“If we can get that right, we can then look at creating chances and getting goals. I think we’ve got boys in the team who’ll manage to do that.
“We can then become more successful hopefully.”
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