Steven Anderson is closing in on the all-time appearance record for St Johnstone, and the injured defender hasn’t ruled out getting one match nearer Alan Main’s total against Ross County on Saturday.
The centre-back, who had to have a nasty ankle gash stitched up at Perth Royal Infirmary at the weekend, is holding on to hope that if the wound is padded up he will be able to play in Dingwall.
His start against Dundee took the former Dundee United man past the late Drew Rutherford into second place behind Main.
Anderson is now on 346 appearances and Main managed 361.
Not that he’s spending any time thinking about making St Johnstone history.
“I’m not too bothered about appearance records,” the Scottish Cup hero said. “No chance.
“I don’t really think about these things. I am only 29, 30 later this month.
“But I suppose records are there to be broken. Alan Main only set the record a few years ago
“I am more concerned with having more success here.”
On the injury he received at McDiarmid Park, which threatens to keep him out of action on Saturday, Anderson revealed that it wasn’t until after the game that he realised how deep the cut was.
“I thought I had run it off,” he recalled. “It happened just after half-time. I cleared the ball from Rory Loy and their fans were demanding a penalty for some reason.
“He caught me and it was just one of these things. But at least we got the free-kick.
“I had seen the blood coming through but didn’t think much of it.
“The gaffer had his chat after the game in the dressing room and when I took my sock off I realised how bad the cut was.
“I got the doc over and he took a look but he wasn’t going to stitch it because the tendons might have been damaged, it was so deep.
“He was also worried about a dirty wound because I had been playing for 40 minutes.
“I was admitted to the ward at night and they took a look at it on Saturday morning under general anaesthetic. I needed seven stitches near the ankle bone. The club doc (Andrew Buist) did it himself after taking a look at the tendon. He’s an orthopaedic surgeon at Perth Royal Infirmary. I got the best of treatment. They were different class.”
Anderson was left at home while his team-mates enjoyed their Christmas night out in Newcastle. And there’s a fancy dress outfit that hasn’t been touched.
“I was out for the count while they were heading down the road,” he said.
“It was frustrating. I had bought a Gingerbread Man outfit and never got the chance to wear it. I’m stuck with it now because I took the tags off it! The fancy dress shop won’t want it back. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it.
“I was getting a few wind-up texts and calls from the lads. It was all good natured. They were saying ‘get yourself down here.’ But I am on antibiotics. I wasn’t taking any chances.
“Obviously I want to play this weekend.
“I am to go back to the hospital next week for a check.
“The worry would be playing and getting an infection. But I might be able to play with it padded up. But we will decide on that later in the week.”