HOPEFULLY tucked away with his new Pars training gear is a sprig of lucky white heather after Freddie Turley returned to East End Park after a nightmare with injury.
It was bad enough that an ankle problem ruled him out of a place in the Scottish Cup final and Dunfermline's promotion chase, but what should have been a 10-weeks max lay-off turned into four months.
Finally fit after a "very frustrating summer", a bout of tonsillitis then ruled out any chance of the 20-year-old making his second debut for the Pars after agreeing a season-long switch from Derby County.
He said: "It took a bit longer than I expected, just because the injury was a bit longer.
"But, yeah, I'm delighted to be back.
“I haven't played a game since I got injured against Airdrie (on April 14, four days before the semi-final against Falkirk).
"I tore my lateral and my ATFL ligaments in my ankle. I tore both of them completely.
“Usually, it's only about an eight-to-10-week injury. But it ended up being four months.
“All you want to do is play football as a footballer. And, when you can't, it's quite annoying."
He added: “It was difficult. But I flew up for the cup final and came up to support the lads. I was at the semi final as well, which was a great day.
“The cup final was a great day as well. I thought the lads did really well. It was a great achievement for everyone to get there.
“But, yeah, I was gutted to miss those two matches.
“It just was weird, we couldn't get the injury sorted. It was very frustrating.
"It was just a really long process.
“But, once I got it right, I always knew I was coming back."
Turley knew the Pars wanted him back - they told him so at Hampden - and it was just about getting fit again.
He explained: “It was always on the cards.
"Basically, after the cup final, they were just like, we want you to come back. And I was like, ‘I want to come back’.
“So, once I'm sorted, I'll come back.
"I think the club's going on a great trajectory at the moment.
“And that's definitely what brought me back, how positive last season was."
Turley joined Athletic first time round in February, on a deal until the end of the season, and said: "I loved it.
"The manager and his coaching staff, I got on really well with them, and I got on really well with the lads.
"Even when I was injured, the lads were checking in on me and I was talking to a lot of them.
“So, yeah, everything just drew me back."
The Republic of Ireland youth international said Neil Lennon played a big part in his decision to come back for a second spell.
Turley explained: “He just put his faith in me so quickly. And I felt that he trusted me, which was really positive.
"Because sometimes it's hard, when you come in on a half-season loan, to get that trust from a manager.
“So, just having that trust and then, continuously, he played me in games.
"And even the odd game he didn't start me, he'd bring me on.
"I just enjoyed playing under him."
Lennon said: "He did really well for me until he got injured last year. He wants to come back. He's a versatile player.
"He can play in a number of positions and play them well. It was only the injury that curtailed his season, really, but we were really pleased with him.
"To have him back is, for me, a no-brainer."
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