Austin Samuels was glad to put rumours to bed as he returned to the Caley Thistle squad after being out injured for more than five months.
The forward last played for the Caley Jags against Dundee on September 17 before being named on the substitutes’ bench against Morton the following month – where he injured himself in the warm-up.
In Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Hamilton Accies, Samuels made his Inverness comeback as he came off the bench for the final 20 minutes.
During his recovery from injury – a hairline fracture to his fibula and damaged ligaments, Samuels saw speculation online which suggested he was refusing to play and that was why he hadn’t been involved in the squad.
There was nothing to those rumours, Samuels says, and he was happy to prove them wrong by returning to the pitch when he came on to replace Daniel MacKay.
He said: “I decided I would wait until I came back to play before I would say anything about it.
“I’ve always wanted to play for the team and I’m really happy to be playing now. I just want to kick on towards the rest of the season.
“I was seeing the comments on social media, a lot of whispers, but it is what it is. Normally you just ignore it, but when I was injured I had too much free time.
“I spent a lot of days in the gym, every day. There were times when I couldn’t do anything at all – for a good two months – and I saw multiple consultants and surgeons.
“In the end, I didn’t need to get surgery, luckily – if I had, I’d have been out for even longer.”
Samuels needs time to get back to best
The forward believes his injury came at the worst time as he felt he was just finding form, but has backed himself to get back his best with time.
Before the injury, Samuels had played six games in the Championship this season – starting five – and scored two goals, both against Cove Rangers.
Samuels said: “It was a frustrating time. When I did get injured, I was annoyed because I was doing well at the time.
“But there’s still plenty of time for me to get back to that kind of form.
“I’m not expecting myself to just hit the ground running after five months out, but it is possible. I felt alright out there against Hamilton, quite sharp.
“Hopefully, within the next few weeks I’ll fully be playing my part.”
Samuels was keen to share how his faith helped him throughout his recovery from injury, as he explained: “I returned to training a couple of weeks ago and I’m back playing now.
“I have to thank God. I’m strong in my faith so any time things like that happen I just thank God all the time, for being back on the pitch and for everything going forward.
“It definitely helped me through the darker times. God takes a lot of stress off my life. Whatever God has planned, that’s all it is, isn’t it?”
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