Liam Grimshaw ended an eight-month illness hell on Saturday, only for Motherwell to be knocked out of the Premier Sports Cup at the last 16 by Dundee at Dens Park.
It wasn't the return the 26-year-old former Manchester United youth hoped for, but he still said it was great to be back, after a lengthy battle with glandular fever, with injuries thrown in for good measure.
Lee Ashcroft's 78th-minute header was enough to give Dee a 1-0 win and book a quarter-final slot at home to St Johnstone, and Grimshaw says it simply wasn't good enough.
But the midfielder says now the Steelmen are out of the competition, the focus turns on picking up results in the Premiership, starting at Livingston this weekend.
"Obviously it wasn't the result that any of us wanted, but it was good to be back out there," said Grimshaw, from Burnley.
"[Being out so long] was tough, but I got a lot of support from my girlfriend, mum and dad, family and stuff, and the club.
"There are worse things - a lot of people are going through worse, and I'm all right now, which is the main thing, and hopefully I can crack on.
"When I went to hospital they said it was glandular fever and they said it can take a while to get over, but I didn't expect it to be this long!
"It completely floored me, and it took quite a while, but I'm all right now."
The 1000 or so supporters who travelled up to Tayside from Lanarkshire voiced their disapproval at the final whistle, and Grimshaw admits it wasn't good enough.
"It's a cup game and all the Motherwell fans are always up for the cups," he said. "We were in the quarter-finals if we won, so they're bound to be disappointed.
"But hopefully we can start picking up results in the league, which is our bread and butter, really, so hopefully we can crack on in that."
Until Saturday, Grimshaw hadn't played under new boss Graham Alexander, and admitted he's starting from scratch.
He said: "I never played under him early on, so I need to impress, and I'll try and do what I always do, give 100 per cent and that, and see where it takes me, and see where it takes us."
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