There were genuine concerns that the football career he had worked so hard to create was nudging towards a premature end.
Sat in the doldrums of injury frustration, at times it became difficult for Chris Kane to truly envisage himself running back onto the McDiarmid Park pitch to the applause of supporters.
The 28-year-old, who has been associated with St Johnstone since he was a kid, admits the latest chapter of his journey in the game has been the toughest period of his life.
