Hamilton Accies star Lewis Smith has opened up on the injury nightmare that wrecked his entire season.
Smith tore his hamstring during a 1-0 win against Motherwell in August and got back into training in November, only for the problem to rear its head again in the 8-0 hammering by Rangers at Ibrox, with associated tendon damage keeping him out until earlier this month.
The 21-year-old started in the 2-0 defeat at home to Kilmarnock on Sunday, having gained a few minutes in the 2-1 win over St Mirren and the 2-1 defeat at Ross County on Wednesday night, which ultimately saw Accies relegated after seven seasons in the Premiership.
Smith admits that has been a nightmare and it was even worse for the boyhood Accies fan as he couldn't save his team from dropping down to the Championship.
He said: "It feels good to be back out there. Obviously it's not the circumstances I'd like to be back in, but personally I was happy to be out there.
"It has been awful, I've had a really bad season. You set targets at the start of the season of what you want to do and achieve throughout the season, personally and as a team, and we've not done it.
"I tore my hamstring and then I came back and it was all right, but I did it again, there was a lot of tendon damage so it was a bit more complicated than we first thought.
"That was frustrating, because I felt fine, I had been training for two weeks and then I did it again, so it was horrible, but the physios and backroom staff are great here, they've helped me a lot.
"I had a good pre-season, I felt good, I felt confident, but it just kind of stopped everything in its tracks, which is a shame, but there's nothing I can do about it, so you can't really think about it too much.
"Everyone has been brilliant with me. It's hard, mentally, being injured for that long, but they always keep your spirits up and the gaffer is always talking to you as well, which is good.
"I was just happy to be back to try and help the team for the last few games.
"It just wasn't to be, in terms of staying up. We were gutted on Wednesday and Sunday and it's not going to go away quickly, we're really hurt, but there's no point in sulking about it, we need to try and turn it into a positive.
"We just need to look forward to next season now, there's no point thinking about it or sulking about it, we need to just look positive and kick on next season.
"Hopefully we can have a good start, win some games and get straight back up.
"Everyone's hurt but as a fan it's not nice, and being out for most of the season I've felt like I've not been able to contribute at all, which is hard for me."
Lewis was pleased to see youngsters Jamie Smith make his debut in goal, while Marley Redfern also got his first minutes in the first team, replacing Reegan Mimnaugh in 66 minutes.
That's not surprising, and he says there is a whole host of good young players just waiting for their chance to shine.
He said: "Jamie played in goal and he was brilliant, saving the penalty, so I was really happy for him, and wee Marley came on and he's a really good player as well. Everyone in training has really performed and they deserved their chance.
"There are always people waiting to step up, if given the chance, and in the Championship next season they will get that chance.
"I have every confidence in them to do that, because all the people like Marley and Jamie that we just mentioned are great players, so I feel like next season we can really kick on and hopefully get back up."
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