Rangers star Ross McCrorie has admitted people messaged him "like I was dying" when word broke that he had coronavirus.
The defender was on loan at Portsmouth last season when he was one of five players from the club diagnosed with COVID-19.
McCrorie was back in Scotland for a short break and cutting his grass when a call from the club physio turned his world upside down.
These were the early days of the virus when less was known about its dangers, making for a scary time for the Ibrox starlet.
In shock, he isolated himself quickly despite having no symptoms to speak of.
McCrorie told The News : "So I was up the road cutting the grass when the call came.
"I was out cutting the grass and I got a phone call from Bob Bacic (Portsmouth's head physio). He told me then my test had come back positive.
"I was proper shocked and I think I swore at him – I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it so I jumped straight inside the house – then I thought “oh no”.
"Within an hour it was all over the news. It was making a lot of headlines, especially here in Scotland.
‘"Everyone started to message me like I was dying, but I’d not had any symptoms at all.
"I appreciated all the messages but I felt like there was nothing wrong with me.
"That’s the scary part of it, to be fair. A lot of people could have it, not realise and it could’ve affected a lot more.
"I had nothing but thankfully I was able to get tested and be able to self-isolate away from others for a period of time.
"I don’t think any of us had any symptoms and that’s the crazy part of it."
Like many young people affected by the virus, McCrorie's first thoughts were of other more vulnerable members of his family he could have infected.
The young defender realised he had visited several family members, including his elderly grandfather.
Fortunately though, they were all unaffected by the virus.
He said: "To be honest, I was more panicked because I’d been near my mum and my papa.
"I’d only been with them for the one day but it was the fact I’d been to my papa’s and visited my sister’s as well.
"Luckily I wasn’t staying, though, because that would’ve been worse.
"So I was worried about that but fortunately it was all good in the end.
"Not even my friends got it when I went to see them, no one picked it up. So I feel very fortunate that I never passed it on to anyone one I know."
