For Leon Clarke, all the hard work was worth it.
At 36, the Bristol Rovers striker's time in the game appeared to be up when he limped off at Hartlepool in September. Hamstring injuries had wrecked his spell at previous club Shrewsbury Town, and Joey Barton was fearing the worst when Clarke required surgery.
With a six-month recovery the prognosis, Clarke had two options: call it a day, or have the surgery and give it one more go.
After frank discussions with the manager, Rovers' physiotherapist Stuart Leake and sports therapist Leighanne Kelly, Clarke chose the latter, and it was no easy road, from feeling useless around the house to gruelling days in the gym at The Quarters.
Clarke, we were told when he joined the Gas on deadline day in August, was not a big fan of interviews, but the man who stood in front of reporters on the Glanford Park touchline on Tuesday could not – in his own softy-spoken way – conceal his relief, gratitude and excitement that there are more games and goals in his legs.
He has scored what proved to be the crucial third goal in a 3-2 win over Scunthorpe United shortly after coming on as a second-half substitute, just as he did on his debut for Rovers against Crawley Town in September.
After staring retirement in the face and turning back for the trenches one more time, Clarke – a player who has scored more than 150 goals, many of which came in more glamourous places than Scunthorpe on a bitter January evening – knew the hard work was worthwhile.
"In terms of ranking, it’s definitely one of the highlights of my career," he said. "To be injured for so long… I’d never had a long-term injury like that.
"To be told you’re going to be out for up to six months, it was difficult. There were times when I was at home and it was frustrating for my partner.
"I probably annoyed the kids as well because I was just lying on the sofa with two cushions under my knee and completing everything on Netflix, completing everything on Amazon, passing time because I had to follow everything Stu, Leighanne and the surgeon said.
"I had to rest for six weeks and it was tough. It was definitely one of the hardest times in my football career. It was really frustrating not being able to get about and help with the kids, help with the house, come to work.
"It was really tough but in terms of ranking, it’s definitely right up there. There’s no better feeling for strikers than scoring goals."
After latching onto Luke Thomas' through-ball, rounding goalkeeper Rory Watson and sliding the ball into an empty net to make it 3-0, Clarke shrugged off the embraces of his teammates to make a beeline for the dugout. There he shared hugs with Leake and Kelly and he spoke of his gratitude after the game.
"Like every other footballer, I don’t want to be injured," he said. "There was a time when me and the manager had a conversation and the question was ‘Do I call it a day, or do I have the surgery?’
"All credit to the Stu and Leighanne. Stu explained the process to me and how it was going to work. He was 100 per cent sure, as long as I was prepared to put the work in with Leighanne and do the hard work behind the scenes that people don’t see, I would be 100 per cent after the surgery.
"I want to thank Stu because his experience, his knowledge persuaded me to get the surgery if I’m being honest.
"I want to thank Leighanne as well because she was there with me, early starts in the morning, late afternoons, every exercise, counting every rep.
"Those people behind the scenes that probably don’t get the credit they deserve, I just want to thank them."
Clarke also praised Barton's handling of the situation and he was delighted to pay the manager back with a goal in just his second substitute appearance after coming back into the fold.
Barton has spoken glowingly of Clarke's contributions in training and the boss' words have not gone unnoticed.
Clarke said: "We had a conversation and it was really supportive. He left it up to me and said he wasn’t going to force me into anything. He said he would totally understand if I wanted to call it a day, but he was also supportive of me having the surgery.
"It’s always nice when the manager mentions you when you’ve been injured for so long, so it was nice to reward the staff and the manager with a goal and contribute to the team."
With his injury concerns, hopefully, behind him, Clarke is fully focused on scoring big goals for the Gas as they target the League Two play-offs in the run-in.
He added: "We’re definitely heading in the right direction but we also want to get those little mistakes out of the team because consistency is going to be very important and it’s going to help us push on in the table.
"If we can cut out little errors and mistakes and be clinical and ruthless and punish teams, the target we all want to achieve at the end of the season will be manageable."
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