'At one point, it was about getting out with two legs'

"At one point, it was about getting out with two legs."

Livingston captain Ryan McGowan feared his career was over after an infection kept him in hospital for three-and-a-half weeks.

The 36-year-old defender has his sights on a return to training soon but had been worried about simply walking again.

"At different stages in hospital, I was in different mindsets," said the Australia international.

"The first night was a bit like get me out of here. Probably by week one it was more a case of just help me as much as you can and make sure I do get out of here.

"They were concerned with the size of the infection, with the markers in my blood.

"There was a real concern that if something wasn't to change quite quickly, that there was a decision possibly having to be made. In terms, not of losing my leg as such, but in the way the infection was progressing and if that gets into my muscles or my bones, then it's a case of everything has to come out and what that would leave me with.

"Would I be able to play professional sport again was a concern. You're lying there telling them 'this is my job' and they're like, 'we understand that, but we have to do what we have to do if this infection gets any worse'."

McGowan, formerly of Hearts, Dundee United and St Johnstone, explained his blood count had been at an alarming level.

"Most people are under 10, anything over 15 is a bit of a concern and I was at 342," he said.

"It was about a week, 10 days in, where there was more of a concern in terms of what is it going to look like once they operate, but luckily it all worked out and I just ended up with a bit of a nasty scar on my calf and lived to tell the tale."

'Felt like a kick in the calf'

The "horrendous experience" has given father-of-four McGowan a fresh appreciation of his profession.

"I'm a pretty positive guy and I used it as a sort of a good reset in terms of knowing what's important and looking after your body," he added.

"It was definitely a rude awakening, to realise that things can change very quickly. I'm just thankful that all the staff, the doctors, the consultants, ended up getting to the bottom of it and hopefully I'll be back on the pitch soon."

McGowan first became aware of the problem on a day off.

"I woke up with what felt like a kick in the back of my calf. As the day went on, it just got bigger and bigger and more intense and started looking like a burn.

"I thought I'd better get myself to hospital and once I was there it kind of snowballed.

"I'd let the manager [David Martindale] know I was going into hospital. Then I woke up the next afternoon, wires everywhere and a few consultants standing over me. It was a bit of a case of, I should probably let the gaffer know that I might not be available for Dundee."