Ifeared injuryhad killedmy bigmove
CALLUM PATERSON has opened his heart on agony he went through after suffering a cruciate knee injury as his Hearts career was coming to an end.
And his fears he’d wrecked the chance to head south to progress his career.
The Scotland full-back, now at Cardiff and nearing the end of a nine-month battle to recover, is desperate to repay the faith shown in him by City boss Neil Warnock who signed him when in the early stages of his rehabilitation process.
Paterson said: “It was a silly injury that could have been avoided if I’d kept my wits about me. There were a few sleepless nights, thinking all I’d had to do was not put my leg in the way.
The ball was probably going to go out for a throw and we’re 1-0 up in a nothing game. It was devastating.
“I’d been playing well and all of a sudden my world had come crashing down. It was two or three days before the window started, my contract was running out and I was due to leave Hearts. I was wondering who’d be willing to wait for me to come back from a serious injury.
“I was worrying I could be facing having no options but thankfully the manager was still interested and put his faith in me that I would come through this.
“It was just what I needed and made me really put the work in to come back to where I was before and repay him. It meant a lot to have someone put that much faith in me.”