Luckless Vaughan puts injury hell behind him

IT was telling that, despite inflicting a third straight league defeat on Partick Thistle with three first-half goals, one of the biggest cheers of the day at Stark’s Park came when Lewis Vaughan emerged from the bench five minutes from time. His first appearance in 15 months was enough to warm the hearts of every Raith fan. It was also a moment the luckless player feared may never happen. Vaughan (below) battled mental anguish as well as physical torture in his bid to return to action after a fourth serious knee injury. Two ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments in each knee have kept the 26-year-old sidelined for almost four years since problems arose in August 2015. Having played just 26 times since January 2019, Vaughan could be forgiven moments of self-doubt. Now the classy attacker hopes the dark days are behind him. ‘It’s been a long time, a year past last Monday since surgery,’ said Vaughan, who also underwent a ‘tidy-up’ on the cartilage in his knee in the summer. ‘I’ve had many bad days and many good days. To come back from four ACLs, the last one is always the hardest. ‘But that’s me completed another hurdle and now I’m looking forward to next week. ‘The mental side is just as difficult. For 14 months I’ve not really looked forward to one single Saturday. Now I’m feeling good and just trying to get as many minutes under my belt as I can.’ Aidan Connolly put Raith ahead in the 12th minute before sweeping in a second 20 minutes later. Kyle Connell completed the scoring from the penalty spot after being bundled over by Tunji Akinola. ‘I’ve had support from my family, the boys in the team and the club and the fans, and the reception I got was different class,’ added Vaughan. ‘I appreciate everyone sticking by me. It’s been difficult, I’ve had some terrible days. ‘There were loads of moments where I thought I might not get back, especially after surgery. It did take its toll on me, mentally and physically, and at times I was thinking: “Am I ever going to get back playing football?”. But the surgeon and the club kept me confident and hopefully I can repay them with a few goals in the coming weeks.’