Craig Wighton has revealed he feared his playing days could be numbered as he struggled with injury at Dunfermline Athletic.
But the former Dundee striker is now convinced his career can be prolonged after making the difficult decision to go part-time.
Wighton knew he would be leaving the Pars this summer months ago when his training regime was all too often blown apart by ongoing knee trouble.
Still just 27, the pain made him question his very future in football.
However, January’s loan move to League One Montrose, which has since been turned into a two-year deal, has proven he still has plenty to give to the game.
“It was probably about November time that I kind of knew in my own head that part-time was the direction I was going to need to go in,” said Wighton, who is marrying fiancée Bex this summer
“That last year there, I was only able to train two days a week. That ended up one day a lot of the time because my knee was reacting and there was different bits going on.
“It was frustrating. I’d had enough.
“I spoke to my fiancée, and said I can’t keep going in every day to a full-time environment, sit and have breakfast, and then the boys are training and I’m stuck in the gym.
Wighton: ‘I would have had a bigger decision’
“I thought I need to make the decision on what’s going to be best for me. So I’ve kind of known for a long time it’s coming.
“I thought, go part-time and see how my body handles it – and I felt good physically, my knees felt good.
“To be honest, if I’d gone to Montrose and I was still getting bothered with my knee, then I probably would have had a bigger decision to make.
“Is it worth even trying to go down the part-time route if I’m sore and I’m in pain a lot of the time?
“But it’s been really good. I’m hoping that’ll prolong how long I can keep playing for.”
Wighton has enjoyed 12 seasons of full-time football since making his debut for Dundee in 2013 aged just 16.
The last four and a half of those have been with Dunfermline, where he made 119 appearances – including 19 in the season just ended.
However, he has been plagued by knee issues since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in 2017.
Speaking to Courier Sport, Wighton added: “It was a tough decision. But I think what made it easy was, my body was really telling me that.
“I kept breaking down. I’d train and I’d play and I’d feel okay. Then, all of a sudden, the next day, my knee had swelled up. Then I couldn’t do anything.
Wighton: ‘It was the right time to do it’
“I’d have a couple of weeks with that, it’d settle down and I’d go back in. Then the same thing happened.
“It was the right time to do it. It was a tough decision in a way, but I think it was the only decision really.
“I just want to go and enjoy my football. And I’m hoping that by going the part-time route, that’ll prolong it for longer.
“If I tried to stay full-time, then I think another couple of years probably would have been the end of me.
“I think this is definitely the right thing to do.”
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