Lewis Toshney is ready to defy doctors again

If Lewis Toshney lines up against Ayr United today, he’s in danger of being dubbed Dundee United’s Lazarus.

Already in his short Tangerines career he’s made more unexpected comebacks than Frank Sinatra.

Just a couple of weeks after signing from Raith Rovers he broke his nose in a closed-door game against Cove Rangers and was told he’d need an operation that would keep him out for six weeks.

Instead, he postponed the surgery and was back in action against Brechin City in just a week.

Then, after missing the Champion-ship opener against Queen of the South, he was warned a calf strain would also sideline him for the Betfred Cup clash with Partick four days later.

Again Toshney ignored medical advice and played a major role in securing an impressive 3-1 victory.

Now he’ll have a scan tonight after a horrific tackle by Dumbarton’s Joe Thomson last weekend left him with a badly swollen knee.

However, despite initial fears he might have suffered serious ligament damage, the 24-year-old believes his chances of facing the Honest Men are good.

“I think I’ll be OK. My knee is feeling much better than it was at the weekend and I’m hopeful.”

That’s a contrasting picture to last Saturday night when Toshney could barely walk as he boarded the team bus for the journey home.

Then he was extremely concerned — and less than impressed with the tackle that caused his pain.

“I saw it coming but I know Joe from Celtic and didn’t think he had it in him. I thought he’d pull out when I got to the ball first but he caught me.

“My knee felt bad right away and I was worried I’d have to come off.

“After missing the Queen of the South game and not completing 90 minutes against Partick, I was determined to stay on.

“I did but I could feel it stiffening up. When I was in the dressing-room at half-time, I had to keep moving and I wanted back out on the park early before it got too stiff.

“After the game, the swelling came up quickly and, it was so bad, I didn’t get any sleep on Saturday night.

“I haven’t been able to train but I’ve been spending a lot of time with the physios and they’ve done a great job.

“It feels a lot better and I think it should be OK.”

If that’s the case, Toshney is determined to do his bit to help United chalk up their first Championship win after that opening-day draw with the Doonhamers was followed by shock defeat at the Sons.

He believes United have learned a lot from these games with the big lesson being a mix of patience and determination is going to be required to get wins in this league.

“I think when teams sit in like Queens and Dumbarton, and a lot will, you have to be patient and make sure you keep doing the right things.

“I don’t think we did that at Dumbarton and started rushing things.”

Tough as his experience of the Championship has taught him winning games in it can be, he remains supremely confident United will mount a strong promotion challenge.

“Look, it’s still early. The two results have been disappointing but we have learned from them and with the quality we have we’ll get it right.

“It’s not going to be easy but, if we do the right things and with the support at Tannadice right behind us, we know we’ll do well and we want a win.”