After feeling like an old man at the start of the week, young St Johnstone keeper Zander Clark appears to be on the mend.
The Perth goalie was in agony for a couple of days after a back spasm forced him off during last Saturday’s defeat to Ross County.
And when the healing process was taking slower than expected, he had to be sent for a scan to see if long-term damage had been done.
The results have eased his fears and now Clark is hoping to get back into contention for Saints’ next match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle next weekend.
“When I took the bye-kick before I came off the muscles spasmed with the way I’ve twisted into it,” Clark recalled.
“Obviously I was disappointed to come off but there was no option.
“It was very painful.
“I couldn’t put weight back down on my foot because it was so tight.
“Saturday night was terrible, so was Sunday. I didn’t get much sleep, that’s for sure.
“Wednesday was the first day I woke up feeling like I was in my 20s rather than my 60s!
“I was still feeling discomfort in my back on Wednesday so the physio sent me for a scan to check if there had been a stress fracture or something like that.
“Everything came back clear so it’s just a case of waiting for the muscle to heal and be pain free.
“It’s been progressing. Every day has been better than the day before, which is a positive thing.”
Clark’s problems started with a mid-air collision with team-mate Joe Shaughnessy that left the Irishman concussed.
“It was partly the collision with Joe and also the way I landed,” Clark said. “I came down square on my back.
“I couldn’t get my breath. It took the wind right out of me.
“Watching it back, I don’t know how Joe got up because the impact he took was incredible. The full side of me has clattered into him and he’s poker straight when he hits the ground.”
A free weekend has come at the right time for Clark but the same can’t necessarily be said for the team.
“That’s obviously a good thing for me personally,” he admitted.
“It gives me the chance to get back into training before the next game.
“As a team we would have probably wanted another match straight away to bounce back from a poor result.
“We know we should have defended better against Ross County.
“As individuals we knew that we should have done better with every goal basically.
“You can’t have a home game, concede four goals like that and expect to win it.”
