IANIS HAGI got by with a little help from his friends. Now he just wants to assist his Rangers team-mates and repay the faith he has been shown at Ibrox.
The 12 months that Hagi spent on the long, gruelling road to recovery have been the most difficult of his career. The physical scars have healed but the mental challenges were even more profound as he embarked on his rehabilitation programme in Glasgow and in Holland and Romania.
The well wishes that poured in following his cruciate ligament injury last January spoke volumes about how highly regarded Hagi is as a player and a person. One of those closest to him provided more comfort than many could.
Carlo Casap, a midfielder with Farul Constanța, may be an unknown name to many Rangers fans. He is owed a debit of gratitude, though, for helping Hagi each step of the way having himself completed that journey on more than one occasion.
"These type of injuries, lately there have been so much more of them in football," Hagi said. "I've been looking around other players who had this same type of injury and it always felt like 10, 15, 20 games until they actually started to get in the team consistently and play, so I push myself but at the same time I have to be realistic.
"I've been out for a year, in this year I've seen other players being out for a month, two months, three months and they had struggles during their first games so I don't want to be too harsh on myself but at the same time I'm a guy that always strives to get better. It's just balance.
"My best friend, he had two ACL injuries on both his knees, so I kind of knew what he went through emotionally. He got injured the first time when I was back in Romania with him and we were roommates so I knew what he was going through.
"So it kind of helped when I had experience from others, maybe in situations where I didn't have anyone to ask, maybe I would have been shocked and take it more negatively than it was but having people that it had been through this I relaxed a little bit and understood the situation and didn't go into it that negatively.
"He's still playing after two heavy injuries and we played in all the youth levels of the national team and also in the Under-21s and he's now in Romania."
The prevalence of knee injuries such as the one that Hagi suffered against Stirling Albion means that the 24-year-old has plenty of inspiring tales to look up to and examples to follow.
An 18-minute run out against St Johnstone was followed by a half against Partick Thistle last weekend as boss Michael Beale guides Hagi through the first weeks back at Ibrox.
It will, of course, take time for Hagi to get fully up to speed. He is well aware of the process and has no fears over what the future holds.
“Federico Chiesa, I have been team-mates with him," Hagi said. "I kept in contact with him a little because I was team-mates with him back in Fiorentina. He had an ACL injury.
“And Florian Wirtz at Bayer Leverkusen too. They were also out for nine or ten months and they’re still struggling to get back into the team.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a struggle, it’s just part of the process. You just have to accept you’ve been out for such and long time and football is not an easy game. You have to accept that.
“But not think that I need those 20 games. You need to push every day — that’s my mentality. I’m trying to do it as soon as possible.
"Maybe it takes 10 games, maybe it takes 20, I don’t know. I want it as soon as possible but it doesn’t come overnight.
“No [I don't have any fear about it happening again]. It may happen but as soon as I got the green light from the medical staff, I just put that away and I’m all in.
“I’m never going to step on to the pitch having doubts about being in contact with someone. If I do, I’m just going to hang up my boots."
