The Courier talks to Dundee’s David Cowan — a player hoping to finally make up for lost time after almost five months out with the most frustrating injury of his career.
The right-back had been a top performer for the Dark Blues in October as he filled in for injured centre-half Jim Lauchlan.
His performance against Partick Thistle at the start of the month earned him a man-of-the-match award but his fateful groin injury occurred just seven days later at Morton.
Cowan previously suffered a career-threatening double ankle break when he played for Motherwell.
Those fractures required surgery that involved securing the bones with metal screws — a procedure which led to Cowan being nicknamed the “Bionic Man” by the Fir Park players.
But he confessed that this setback has been even more difficult to deal with.
“The injury happened in the last couple of minutes of the game against Morton,” he said.
“I turned to head the ball back to Tony Bullock in goal and I experienced a sudden pain and just felt my groin go.
“I had a scan and they found that I had actually ripped the muscle off the bone so I needed an operation to have it fixed.
“Afterwards, you require three to four months’ rehab.
“When I broke my tibia and fibia at Motherwell, I knew I would be out for the season so I was able to prepare myself mentally for that.
“However, this has been a lot more frustrating, especially as I had been doing so well at the time it happened.
“I was supposed to come back into training about two weeks ago but I was feeling a bit of pain from some scar tissue.
“I had another scan and was given the all-clear to start back and I am just enjoying being able to train again.
“There is a lot of competition for places at the back now with Craig McKeown getting fit again and Bob Malcolm coming to the club, but to be honest that does not bother me.
“If I do the things I was doing before the injury, then I should not have a problem.
“I would like to have a really strong finish to the season and maybe feature in the last six to eight matches.”