Tam O’Ware feared he would be forced to quit football following 11 months of ‘mental torture’.
But the Kelty Hearts star has rediscovered his love of the game at New Central Park.
O’Ware suffered an agonising slipped disc in 2020 while on the books of Partick Thistle, bluntly recalling, ‘it was like someone had stabbed me in the back’.
As a swathe of physios, doctors and specialists struggled to diagnose the subsequent complications, the former Morton defender found himself housebound.
On the occasions he did make it to a gym, stretching exercises were the sum-total of his capabilities.
Now thriving at Kelty, he can afford to reflect on those dark days candidly. He has emerged stronger.
“I jumped a hurdle and it was like someone had stabbed me in the back with a knife,” he told Courier Sport. “It was agony. I had slipped a disc.”
O’Ware had already recovered from a devastating cruciate knee ligament injury at Thistle. That kept him sidelined for close to a year.
But this was so much worse, physically and psychologically.
O’Ware would go on to miss the entirety of the 2020/21 campaign and repeatedly question whether he would ever be able to run — let alone kick a football — again.
“There were so many complications and I was out for 11 months in total,” he continued. “I thought that was me done.
“Every time I started to jog, I’d break down again.
“It was eleven months of crawling about the house or sitting in a gym doing yoga poses, barely able to move. It was mental torture so, of course, I questioned what would happen next for me in life.”
‘Blessing in disguise’
O’Ware is fulsome in his praise for the medical staff at Partick Thistle, while he credits the support of Stuart Bannigan — a player who has endured more fitness setbacks than most — as pivotal to his progress.
After finally recovering courtesy of injections prescribed by one specialist, he made the decision to depart Firhill and head for West Fife last summer.
🏆⚽️| #RivalsWeekend – Group C – Tam O'Ware!@Morton_FC's big centre-half seemed to enjoy this header against @saintmirrenfc! pic.twitter.com/ou5RGuKQgT
— SPFL (@spfl) March 7, 2018
“My head wasn’t there and I fell out of love with football because of the cards I was dealt at Thistle, in terms of injuries,” he continued.
“If I’m honest, I was apprehensive about dropping down to Kelty; part-time football and playing in League 2. But it’s been one of the biggest blessings in disguise I’ve ever had.
“The manager [Kevin Thomson] has been sensational with me, on and off the field.
“The boys have welcomed me and getting back to that feeling of playing — and winning — on a Saturday has been incredible. I’ve got the belief in myself back, too.
“When you take so many knocks, you wonder if you’ll be the same player, but this season has been everything I could have wanted.”
Future laid out
He is still only 28 years of age and retains aspirations to play full-time football again — but O’Ware has a clear picture of the future beyond that.
The former Morton defender has already coached kids at Cappielow and Partick, worked with the reserves and first-team at Troon FC, and was recently named an academy coach at Rangers.
Indeed, he has an exam next week which, all going well, will see O’Ware earn his Scottish FA ‘A’-Licence.
“[Management] is a dream of mine,” added O’Ware. “But I’m determined to do it right. Starting now gives me that 10 years to get all the knowledge I need — to make my mistakes — and hopefully be ready to take that opportunity.”
But for the moment, O’Ware’s sole focus is on Kelty’s Scottish Cup showdown at St Mirren; an opportunity to make yet more history.
The moment that Kallum Higginbotham struck to seal @KeltyHeartsFC's place in the Fifth Round 🏆🙌#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/T0Q2r1UfjM
— Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) January 23, 2022
And having dumped holders St Johnstone out in the previous round, O’Ware has little time for the notion that the visitors can simply enjoy the occasion.
He added: “People might think there is no pressure but we have demands that come down from the gaffer.
“It’s not a ‘free hit’. We want to get to the next round of the Scottish Cup.
“We had that same attitude against St Johnstone.
“St Mirren are a team in form but we need to have belief and keep our standards up.”
