Cove Rangers defender Daniel Higgins hopes his injury woes are behind him as he looks to boost the club’s promotion push.
Higgins was sidelined for six weeks with a grade three hamstring tear, sustained in the 6-1 defeat to Annan Athletic, but returned to training ahead of schedule.
The former Kilmarnock and Dundee youngster was injured in the same game as Harry Milne, who also missed game-time with a hamstring issue.
In his absence, however, Cove have re-established a five-point lead at the top of League 2 from Edinburgh City, ahead of their re-match with Annan at the Balmoral Stadium this weekend.
Higgins returned to the match-day squad for last weekend’s win over Cowdenbeath and wants to play his part in the season’s run-in.
He said: “This is the most important part of the season, where it really matters. There’s no point having a good half-season if you’re just going to let it slide away.
“Everyone needs to be ready and willing to play. If you keep focused on the next game, you can’t think about other teams dropping points.
“My recovery was down to good work with the physio and the programme I was on. I’m quite a quick healer, so it was about making sure I was doing the right stuff, eating the right things and keeping myself going while I wasn’t doing anything football-related.
“There were important games coming up and it was annoying (getting injured). But you just need to get on with it. I got a wee break to go home for Christmas, which was good for me as well.”
Paul Hartley’s side face Annan today for the first time since their 6-1 drubbing at Galabank at the end of November.
It was a day when everything went wrong for a depleted Cove side, who had only travelled with two outfield substitutes.
They were beaten again a week later by Edinburgh but have since won five straight, with the capital club dropping points against Queen’s Park.
Higgins added: “I think the boys took a bit of a blow that day. To get beat 6-1 was a bit embarrassing.
“They were celebrating, as you would after beating the team at the top of the league. It’s not that we’ve got a point to prove, but to show that they caught us on a bad day.”