Ross County manager Jim McIntyre believes attacker Craig Curran’s return to health is the perfect tonic for the Staggies’ end of season run-in.
Curran, pictured below, endured a long period of recovery after suffering concussion after a clash of heads with Kilmarnock player Darryl Westlake in a 4-0 win for the Dingwall men in August 2015, with the Englishman going through prolonged spells of dizziness and fatigue.
The 27-year-old last week revealed he is nearing full fitness for the first time and scored in County’s 2-1 loss to St Johnstone on Saturday.
McIntyre has seen the improvements in Curran’s condition and reckons he will be a key player as the Staggies try to revive top-six hopes by ending a poor recent run of form of four games without a victory.
McIntyre said: “Craig’s hard time has been well documented but he is over it now.
“His play and how bright he has been has been great and he certainly deserved his goal. It has been a long slog for him.
“I was absolutely thrilled for him.
“Anyone who has watched Craig in his pomp knows that is him, a real livewire type of player who is constantly at it. It has been a long time since we have seen him like that and that bodes well for the run-in.”
McIntyre hailed Curran’s resilience, and doubts other players would have shown the same determination to get back to fitness as the former Tranmere Rovers forward.
He added: “We have done everything we can to help Craig and he is the first to be very appreciative of that.
“We have shown patience with him because it has been such a long road. He has seen all the specialists that he needed to and tried other forms of help.
“If a player comes to me and tells me this is the way it is then I have to listen to him.
“The biggest frustration was for Craig.
“If I was frustrated, everyone was, but I can only imagine how Craig was feeling. I put my player’s head on when I am looking at that because Craig is a very strong-minded individual. A lot of people would have struggled to cope with what he’s had to deal with, but it says so much for his strength of character.
“That sums Craig up. He deserves all the credit and hopefully that’s him by it.”
