The 24-year-old was attempting his latest comeback during last month’s under-20s game with Dundee United when he was unable to continue after falling over in pain after just 37 minutes with a problem that appears to be linked to injuries suffered over the last 12 months but, as yet, remains a mystery.

It was another bitter blow for the popular forward, who has made just five top-team appearances this season having been struck down with a double hernia, problems with an inflamed pubic bone, a tear in his adductor (muscles of the hip) and a stress fracture in his pelvis since February last year.

MRI scans have failed to find the cause of his latest setback that will require him to have eight weeks of complete rest, ruling him out for the rest of the season.

While the prospect of buying a house with his girlfriend is keeping Wallace’s mind off it, the consequences of not recovering is driving him up the wall.

“I’ve not been doing too great to be honest as I feel like I’m going around in circles,” he told Press Sport. “I need to get to the bottom of it and the toughest part is not knowing what’s wrong. Every time I think I’m at the end of it it gets pulled away from me and because the MRI scans are showing things have healed with bones and soft tissue, it must be something that is underlying.

“I felt a wee bit sore before the game but it wasn’t agony, so I tried to play but I was never really in it as I was concentrating more on the pain. Then I kicked the ball, fell over and couldn’t do any more which was my lowest point – I hit rock bottom. I’ve been injured for a year and I’ve tried to come back two or three times but when you keep breaking down, it plays on your mind.

“I’ve got eight weeks of doing absolutely nothing to see if that helps, and if it doesn’t, I’ll need to sit down with the manager and the physio to see what we’re going to do.

“I may need to go down the road of seeing a specialist but with the symptoms I’ve got, I don’t know what type I would go to. My hip’s tight going into my back and bumcheeks, and it’s pretty uncomfortable to even lie on my side.

“It’s very frustrating because I don’t like sitting around the house. It’s not as severe as the last one as I can still get up and about and I’m buying a house with my girlfriend which is keeping my mind off things. When we went into administration it was tough but this is up there because I’m chomping at the bit to play but my body can’t do it.” While he is determined to maintain a positive frame of mind, Wallace admitted that questions over whether his career would be in jeapordy did cross his mind.

But he continued, “If you beat yourself up about it then it’ll make you feel even worse. I’ve managed to come to terms with it just now but if you’d asked me a couple of weeks ago then you’d not have got the same answer. It does go through your mind, although you don’t want to think that, about whether it will affect or maybe even end your career.

“But I just have to do what the club and physio say and take it from there. If things don’t go to plan then we may need to see a specialist which would be a bit of a last resort.”