St Johnstone’s Steven Anderson has joked that he was doing so much running as he recuperated from a fractured eye socket, he started feeling like Forrest Gump.
The long-serving defender suffered the injury back in July in Saints Europa League tie with Alashkert.
The seriousness of the problem meant that he was restricted to running for weeks on end but now he is on track to make his playing comeback next Tuesday for the Under-20s.
If Anderson comes through that without any problems, then he hopes to be available for the next Premiership game after the international break at Hamilton.
That will be a relief after hours spent on the treadmill left him feeling like Tom Hanks’ character in the hit movie.
The 29-year-old said: “I have been targeting the Hamilton game for a few weeks now.
“I was under orders not to play for six weeks after the surgery and there is a development league game against Ross County next week that I will play in.
“I trained for the first time in the morning before the Celtic game at the weekend.
“All I have been doing is running, trying to keep myself fit.
“I got the go-ahead for that five days after the operation so it has been constant.
“It’s like being a member of a running club rather than a football club. I sometimes think I’ve turned into Forrest Gump!
“The treadmill is boring but it had to be done.
He added: “I was even running up and down the steps in the stand just to try and break it up a bit. It is old school. The sort of stuff players used to get in pre-season years ago. It is a real test.
“Now I’ve to go and see the surgeon just to make sure everything has mended properly but it feels fine.
“The gaffer looked into it and asked if we could go with a mask but that was ruled out. They only protect the cheekbone not the eye socket.
“I have been doing some possession stuff but I couldn’t afford to head the ball. That would have been too risky.
“I will get a chance to attack the ball in the Under-20 game. I definitely need a run out.
“After the tidy-up on the ankle this season I have only played an hour or so against Fraserburgh and then the same against Alashkert in Europe before being injured. It hasn’t been the best of starts for me.
“Dave Mackay came through his comeback fine after his hip surgery. He was in good shape anyway. He did a lot of running as well. Hopefully I can do the same.”
St Johnstone’s success in recent seasons has been based on a miserly defence.
That rearguard has though not been as tight so far this season with manager Tommy Wright having to change the personnel at the back.
Anderson, who said goodbye to his long-standing centre-half partner Frazer Wright after he left the club last month, admits it is just a case of being patient to allow the defence to bed in.
He said: “We have lost more goals than we would have liked but it takes time for new boys to settle in. We are maybe a bit more open this season because we are scoring a lot more goals.
“We still have still to bed in a back four.
“Fraz and I did well as a partnership here. I enjoyed playing with him. We clicked on and off the park.
“But it’s not just about the back four. We press as a team all over the park.
“The gaffer has been working on it. He will get it sorted out.”