Yerevan airport was a dark place for Murray Davidson.
Left with his own thoughts of another season wiped out by a suspected cruciate knee injury, his St Johnstone team-mates were keeping their distance.
And the thought of a seven-hour flight home wasn’t likely to raise the midfielder’s spirits.
But the forlorn figure in Armenia is now ready for a remarkable return to action just a few weeks later.
“The lads have been calling me the miracle man,” Davidson, who is set to be included in the Perth squad for today’s clash with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, said.
“And if anyone had said on that flight home from Armenia that I would be back playing and in with a chance of playing a league game so soon I wouldn’t have believed them.
“It was so hard over in Yerevan. The doc and the physios were honest with me and upfront. They thought my cruciate had gone.
“Dark thoughts go through your head. I couldn’t help but think back to the injury to the other knee I got against Hearts two years ago which kept me out long-term – and how horrible it was.
“Until you have a serious injury you have no idea how it affects you. It is a long haul back. There is nothing worse for any footballer than knowing you are out for months.
“At the airport and on the flight home the lads were giving me space and leaving me alone. That was sensible because every player knows what it is like to be injured. They were keeping their distance because there’s nothing they can do or say.
“It kept going through my mind that I was facing another nine months out just after becoming a dad for the first time.
“Having had that previous injury I knew just how bad it would be if I was out long term again.
“I was really down on that seven hour flight back to Scotland. It was horrible. I had also got a knock on the head that had needed stitches and I couldn’t sleep.
“I was told to think positive but that’s easier said than done.”
The edge was soon taken off Davidson’s torment, however.
“Luckily I got the scan when we got back on the Friday morning and by the afternoon I had got the good news that it wasn’t a rupture or tear,” the former Livingston man recalled.
“That was a massive boost, especially because there were stories going around that I was out for the rest of the season and I was getting calls from friends at a time when even I didn’t know the extent of the injury.
“It sounds stupid but when I got the scan result and I was told it looked like I would be out for three months I have never been so happy.
“But it is just over five weeks since that night in Armenia so it is amazing to find myself back in contention for a start after 45 minutes in midweek.”
Davidson’s softly-softly approach to his under-20s comeback at Firhill didn’t last long.
He said: “I took it easy for the first 10 minutes but there were a couple of dodgy challenges which annoyed me and they came as a confidence booster.
“I have joined in training and did the full pre-season anyway so I am ready if required this weekend.
“Going forward I have a programme to stick with after training, exercises I will be doing for the rest of my career. Every single player has their own programmes nowadays.”
Saints are determined to get up-and-running against Caley Thistle today.
Davidson said: “I was in the stand at Tynecastle and it was a bit surreal seeing us in a game with seven goals. But when we got back to 3-3 I could only see one team going on to win it. So it was really disappointing.
“We are looking to get a win as soon as possible and Inverness are in the same boat.”