Falkirk midfielder Aidan Nesbitt is determined to prove he is not the forgotten man at the club after a year of injury setbacks threatened to end his Premiership dream. The 29-year-old, who suffered two leg breaks within months, made a return to action last week in a reserve match against St Johnstone.
A Career Interrupted by Injury
Nesbitt, who rose through Celtic's youth ranks as a teenage prodigy, had achieved his ambition of reaching the Premiership with Falkirk after consecutive promotions. However, a series of serious injuries derailed his top-flight plans.
He described the moment he knew his season was over: "It was 10 minutes into the first game of last season when I knew it was disaster. A Challenge Cup tie back in August when I tore my plantar fascia underneath my foot and it kept me out for six months."
After a loan spell at Arbroath to regain fitness, he suffered another setback: "In my very first start, I broke my ankle, tore a ligament and sustained fractured fibula against Partick at Firhill. That was last season essentially finished as I wasn't fit against until the end of May. Basically I was injured for an entire year and it was an absolute nightmare."
Another Setback in Pre-Season
Nesbitt returned for pre-season feeling strong, completing a full training camp in Portugal and a friendly against Airdrie. But disaster struck again in the League Cup tie against Edinburgh City at Meadowbank Stadium.
"10 minutes into the game, I rolled my ankle again. This time my tibia was shattered and I ruptured three ligaments. Ten days later I was on the operating table in hospital and it was devastating."
He reflected on the mental toll: "Up until the first injury I had been so lucky as I had never suffered anything serious... I was philosophical about it as I had made it to 29-years-old as a professional footballer and avoided serious injury. But against Edinburgh City, I knew right away it was really bad. It was the worst day of my career."
Looking Forward
Nesbitt is now fit and aiming to catch the eye of Falkirk boss John McGlynn in training. He said: "I've been fit now for around three weeks and the message from my boss McGlynn has been so positive. Not only is he a top manager but he's a brilliant man – and that does help given the position I've been in."
He added: "His message has been for me to get back to a level that I can give back to the team as much as anyone in my position and prove that I am a good Premiership player."
With the season still in its early stages, Nesbitt remains optimistic: "The season is still in its infancy as we've only played 12 games and now there's an international break. I feel there's so much still to look forward to this season. I just need to make sure that when an opportunity comes up then I'm the guy training hard and ready to go into the team and impose myself."
