It would have been easy for Callum Paterson to curse his misfortune after he suffered a season-ending cruciate ligament injury six months before the end of his Hearts contract.
After a full recovery with Cardiff City helped him reclaim his place in the Scotland squad, Paterson feels he is reaping the benefits of remaining upbeat even throughout his darkest days.
Paterson picked up the injury in the Jambos’ 4-0 victory over Kilmarnock at Tynecastle on December 27, 2016, by which stage the right back already had his heart set on a move away from the Edinburgh outfit.
His decision to take his chance on a move to England paid off when Championship side Cardiff took him on last summer, but the 23-year-old insists he never let the setback get him down.
Paterson said: “When you get injured you don’t get a scan straight away. You wait for the swelling to go down. I got injured on the Friday night just after Christmas so everything was shut for a couple of days. In that time between then and the Monday when I got my scan I thought it could be everything, I thought it could be nothing. It is a horrible time, a horrible situation.
“You have just got to surround yourself with positive people, think positive thoughts and get yourself in the right mindset.
“It shows that I’m strong-minded and am always positive. Even when I was injured I was always positive. I had a smile on my face and I just got on with it. You play the hand you’ve been dealt at the end of the day. I am happy to back playing and back doing well.
“Of course. But everything happens for a reason. I have said that in the past. Things can go well at other parts of the season. I am doing really well at the moment. I am happy to be part of Cardiff and happy to be back in the national fold and back playing. It keeps my mind positive and everything else positive.”
Paterson has not looked back since returning to action with the Bluebirds in October, and has recently been deployed in an advanced midfield position by manager Neil Warnock.
With Cardiff aiming for promotion to the Premier League, Paterson hopes to carry his success on to the international scene, having been named in Alex McLeish’s squad for the friendly double header against Costa Rica and Hungary.
He added: “Everyone knows it is a massive league. It is a tough ask to play there week in, week out. I didn’t get much of a sniff at the start. The team was doing so well and I was just coming back from injury. I have shoehorned my way into a position that I am doing well in and I want to try and keep hold of that. The team is doing really well at the minute. It is good to be part of it.”