Self-diagnosis has helped save St Johnstone defender Brian Easton’s Scottish Cup semi-final dream.
The Perth full-back put his hand up to be substituted when he felt his hamstring tighten at Tannadice a few weeks ago.
And he believes that had he played on for much longer, he wouldn’t now have a last-four clash with Aberdeen to look forward to.
Easton, who made his comeback from injury against Partick Thistle at the weekend, said: “It’s good to be back after the injury. I could have been out longer if I hadn’t recognised the signs and got off early against Dundee United when I felt my hamstring.
“You know your own body and if I had kept going I’d have made it an awful lot worse. Even then the semi-final was in the back of my mind.
“Whether they admit it or not, that’s the one everyone is looking forward to. But it was important to get a game or two before the semi-final.”
“Wanting to get into the starting line-up at Ibrox doesn’t mean taking it easy at Kilmarnock on Saturday,” Easton said.
In fact, it will be the exact opposite for the players given the chance to impress at Rugby Park.
“In terms of the league we are still chasing fifth and fourth place,” he pointed out.
“So we will be looking to win at Kilmarnock. We threw two points away against Partick and that was annoying. But we took seven points out of nine in a decent week. And with places up for grabs for the semi-final no one will be free-wheeling it. We also want to keep building momentum going into the preparations for the Aberdeen game.”
Easton, meanwhile, is understandably sitting on the fence as far as the outcome of Saturday’s top of the table Championship showdown is concerned.
Having played for both Hamilton Accies and, more recently, Dundee, the defender has affection for both clubs. But he did admit that there may be a good omen for Alex Neil’s side from his own time at New Douglas Park.
He explained: “When I was at Hamilton we beat Dundee to go up. We were always the dark horses and everyone expected our bubble to burst and we would fall away. It has been the same this season.
“It is certainly making for an interesting end to the season in the Championship and it’s good to see them both doing well.”
Easton added: “Two of my former clubs are battling for the title and I didn’t think it was going to be this tight. They are really going at it along with Falkirk and I can see it going right down to the wire now.
“The one that doesn’t win the league can still go up via the play-offs. Hamilton have gone on top, if only just. They have a young team and a good manager who is always going to get the best out of them.
“Dundee have some good experienced players in their squad so it’s hard to say who will come out on top. Saturday’s game will have a big bearing on things.
“I think there is higher expectation levels at Dundee. Even last season they were expected to stay up despite the strange situation of being thrown in late after what happened at Rangers.
“They have a big fan base which expects the best out of their team, especially when the glory days aren’t that long ago.”