O’Ware frustrated to miss start of the season

Thomas O’Ware has told of his frustration at discovering he would miss the majority of pre-season training and the Betfred Cup group stage due to a stress fracture in his ankle.

The defender underwent a tidy-up operation at the end of the 2016/17 campaign and thought he had suffered a reaction in a bounce game against Partick Thistle last month.

However, a recent scan revealed his injury was more serious than first feared and he now faces at least four weeks in a protective boot.

The news has come as a real blow to O’Ware, who was intent on hitting the ground running off the back of a superb season in which he scored 11 goals and was named in the PFA Scotland Championship Team of the Year.

Speaking exclusively to gmfc.net, the 24-year-old explained: “I felt fine for the Partick game, everything was perfect, and I played a ball to Doyley [Michael Doyle] and felt my ankle slip a wee bit.

“I felt something but thought it was maybe just a reaction to my operation. So I didn’t train for 12 days and then went to do a job because it felt a lot better, but I did half a lap and it just blew up.

“It was then that I knew something wasn’t right – it wasn’t just a knock, I’ve played through knocks before – so I went up and saw the surgeon on the Thursday and back on the Friday for the scan.

“It turned out I had a stress fracture in my ankle and I’d be out for six weeks from when it happened. That’s been two weeks, so I’ve got another month.

“I’m wearing a moonboot, a non-weight bearing boot, so there’s not a lot of pressure on my foot and that helps it heal more quickly.

“This is a big season for me to try and kick on and try and do it again so it’s a setback for me, especially having missed basically all of pre-season.

“Obviously boys will have the chance to impress in the cup games and I’ll be playing catch up to try and get back into the team. But hopefully it will be three or four weeks and I’ll be able to start doing something again.”

 

Image: David Bell