St Johnstone stopper Frazer Wright thought about hanging up his boots at the end of the season through injury, it has emerged.
The 34-year-old revealed he has been playing through the pain this term because of a hip problem caused by wear and tear over the years, with the damage increasingly restricting his movement on the field.
Such was the extent of Wright’s suffering, the centre half told Courier Sport he considered retiring at the end of the current campaign fearing another season of football at the top level could cause him further problems in years to come.
However, a pain-killing injection appears to have prolonged Wright’s playing career beyond the end of this season and has given the defender a new lease of life.
“The way it was feeling I was looking at probably chucking it at the end of the season,” he admitted.
“I’ve worn away the cartilage in my hip, it’s something that has just happened over a period of years.
“But the injection has made a big difference and there’s hope that I can continue.
“It has made some difference, I’m really enjoying training again and I’m running about like a youngster and kicking people.
“I’ve not done that for years!
“Because of the hip I think I’ve only been at 50% for the last while and it was taking me two or three days to recover from every game I played.
“I know the standards I can reach and I was nowhere near that, but I’m feeling much better now.
“It’s just a case of seeing how long this injection lasts and how long the pain stays away.”
Wright explained that he was given the injection at the start of the international break and has returned to training the following Thursday, although he has been warned by doctors that he cannot receive too many for medical reasons.
He added: “The only way I’ll be pain free when I’m older is if I get a replacement, but I’m too young to get one at the moment!
“It had to happen because gradually over the last year it has been getting worse and worse.
“I have not had a proper full range on my hip for 18 months, I’ve been taking painkillers all the time and just trying to get on with it.
“It was affecting me away from football as well, I couldn’t bend over to pick things up.
“There were times I was asking the missus to lift things off the floor for me.
“The injection has calmed it all down, I’m pain free and as I say, I’m moving much better than I have done for a long time.”
Back in training with an extra spring in his step, Wright feels he is ready to help Saints end their run of five straight league defeats when they visit Partick Thistle today.
“I’ve had to be patient but even when Tam Scobbie got injured I wasn’t playing well enough to justify a place in the team,” he continued.
“But with my hip better now I feel ready to play a role.
“We need to start getting clean sheets and it doesn’t matter how we get it.
“We felt out luck had changed at the start of the Kilmarnock game but then we lost two bad goals.
“It’s a case of cutting that out now and taking out chance at the other end.
“The lads here still believe we’re a good side and if we perform we can pick up points from the games we’ve got.
“The aim is to get going on a run and that’s all we’re thinking about at the moment.
“This could be a big week for us and hopefully will spark our season into life.”
Midfielders Chris Millar and Gary McDonald will be available for selection, while David Wotherspoon is also expected to be fit despite picking up a knock at the start of the week.
Thistle have won their last two games at Firhill and will be looking to make it three for the first time since they were promoted back to the top flight.