Ross Matthews is growing accustomed to his pain management system.
Regular ice-baths; anti-inflammatory medication; shockwave therapy, a process which shoots impulses of energy to problem areas of the area.
All of which are intended to mitigate the persistent, mystery foot injury which has plagued the 25-year-old for most of 2021.
The underlying issue has not been cured, mainly because the underlying issue has not been identified.
However, this cocktail of mediation allowed Matthews to get back on the pitch against Inverness on Saturday.
It was his first appearance of the campaign and he completed the full 90 minutes, snapping into tackles and covering the yards in his usual fashion. Touch wood, he seems to have found a solution.
Matthews is, to an extent, still playing through the pain barrier.
But the thought of being sidelined for any longer hurts far more.
“It’s more about managing the issue and I’m still waiting to see a few people,” Matthews told Courier Sport. “I’ve had shockwave therapy and that helped to get the swelling down, which is the main thing.
“I’ve been told that there will be no problems with the bone or the muscle — but there was something inside the joint which was causing the inflammation. We still haven’t got to the bottom of that.
“I tried antibiotics — in case it was a viral infection — and everything else you can think of.
“But every time I did any impact training, it would swell up again and be uncomfortable.
“However, that [shockwave] treatment, along with icing it after training and taking some anti-inflammatories, has helped.
“People keep asking me what the problem is and I wish I could tell them!”
Indeed, that uncertainty has been the toughest part of the last few months for Matthews, an all-action midfielder who, by his own admission, does not deal well with being sidelined.
“I was getting told all sorts of things from different people,” he rued. “So, you wonder what is really wrong and when you’ll be able to get back on the pitch.
“That was mentally tough. I’d rather someone could say: ‘you’ve damaged some ligaments, it’ll be a couple of months out’.”
Aberdeen scalp
Now back in the Rovers side — and not a moment too soon, given playmaker Brad Spencer suffered a fractured foot last week — Matthews will be key if the Fifers are to stun Aberdeen on Sunday.
Boss John McGlynn has described the Dons as the most in-form team in Scotland at the moment and Matthews shares that admiration.
“I’ve been really impressed by Aberdeen,” he continued. “They play some great stuff — as do we — and I think it will be a good game for the neutral.
“You want to test yourself in matches like that. Scott Brown gets a lot of attention but he is surrounded by top quality midfielders and, as you go through the team, there are threats everywhere.
“But you’ve got to try to rise to the challenge.”
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