Clyde striker Conner Duthie has revealed he underwent surgery to repair a hole in his heart.
The 25-year-old has been sidelined since the start of the season and the source of his absence has now been explained.
Duthie went for a hospital scan on the opening day of the League One season following a 4-1 defeat at Queen of the South on July 30, which revealed he required surgery to mend the hole in his heart.
He underwent his operation last week and is now on the road to a full recovery, although no timeframe for his return to the field has been set out.
Speaking to the Clyde website, Duthie explained: "I went for a scan after the Queen of the South game and they found a wee hole in my heart which affected the nerve in my back.
"I had an operation last week and that fixed the hole and in turn the nerve will start to heal.
"Everything went to plan in the operation which is good.
"There was no recovery time from the op so I’ve been able to get back out on the pitch with the rest of the lads during the warm-up and do some runs and get a touch of the ball again so I’m happy with that.
"I don’t have a set date in mind for getting back to play again, the nature of it means I’m just having to take each day as it comes at the moment. To be honest every day is a blessing now just not having to wake up with that scare.
"Given that the problem is now fixed I’m hoping to be back on the pitch sooner rather than later but we’ll just have to wait and see when the time is right.”
The former Hibs, Dumbarton and Stenhousemuir star also wished to thank the NHS staff and all those who helped him through such a difficult time.
Duthie, who has had to watch on helpless from the sidelines amid a run of nine straight defeats for the Bully Wee, added: "The players, staff and physios have all been absolutely amazing with me, as have the NHS staff and I’d like to mention my family as well.
"They’ve all been keeping me going through a really tough period and it’s really great to see and very appreciated, I just want to get back now and help them out on the pitch.
"It’s horrible to watch on from the stands during this poor run of form and not be able to play my part and try to help turn things around.
"Everyone knows the current run is nowhere near good enough for the club but there’s ability in there and maybe we just need a wee bit more self-belief and confidence in ourselves that we can turn things around.
"We’re competing against teams but things just aren’t clicking for us right now but that’ll change. I’m hoping that the guys see me out running and taking part again and that might give them a little boost mentally.”
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