Copyright falkirkherald
After nearly three months out, Falkirk winger Ethan Ross has revealed that is ready to make an impact in the Bairns’ high-flying Scottish Premiership side after a “tough” ankle injury curtailed his start to life in the top flight - and a holiday to Spain. The 24-year-old - who had scored three goals in three starts before pulling up in the first half against Livingston back on Saturday, August 9 - was just getting settled into Premiership life on the second matchday when his hopes of getting an extended run in the team were cut short. Ross was helped off the pitch and subsequently found out that he required an ankle operation with a lengthy twelve week lay-off expected. But he’s managed to beat that timeline thanks to the help of club physio Cammy McAndrew plus sports scientists Blair Doughty and Lewis Collison and is back in contention to be part of Falkirk’s matchday squad going forward with a trip to Celtic on Wednesday being followed up by a home match against Kilmarnock this Saturday in the Premiership. “I did manage to wrap my head around it quickly,” Ross revealed. “I knew I wanted to be back sooner but I knew I had to be right. The Livingston game was the third time I’d done my right ankle this season, having not done it previously. So I knew I’d had problems with that ankle. I wanted it to be as strong as it could be because this is a massive season, not just for the club but for myself. An internal brace was put into my ankle, taking out an avulsion fracture. Basically when the ligaments damage, they pull off a bit of bone. So they took out two pieces of bone that were floating around in there and then repaired my anterior talofibular ligament as well. “You won’t believe this but the day I got injured, my girlfriend Mia had booked for us and a couple of the other boys and their girlfriends to go away to Majorca during the international break. I got injured on the Saturday, she had booked it on the Saturday morning. I came back home and she thought it wasn’t too bad, she didn’t realise what had happened. I was like, ‘We’re not going away on this holiday’ and her face dropped. Of course all the other boys still went! I did say to her, ‘You go, I just can’t fly after my operation’. “But she was brilliant so I’m definitely due her a holiday in this next international break as she had to stay home and look after me. My girlfriend and my family have been massive in keeping my head in the right space, which also helps with getting back as quickly as possible. It’s been tough. I’ve been probably quite annoying speaking to them on the phone, getting frustrated with things I’m doing in the gym, maybe things I’m not getting to do yet because I’m not quite ready and feeling like I am. So they’ve had to put up with a lot.” Falkirk have impressed so far in the top flight, earning wins against Aberdeen, Motherwell and Dundee while also picking up draws against Dundee United, Hibs and Rangers. Despite not being able to play his part on the pitch, Ross has still made sure that he is playing his role in what is a tight-knit squad. “Of course I’ve still been getting fined (in the dressing room)!” he added. “I cannae get done for getting megged in training but if someone get nutmegged in boxes or handball in training, you have to spin the wheel on a Friday and it could land on ‘every odd number gets fined’. I’m No 23 so I’ve been fined many a time! But it goes towards a good cause and that camaraderie, still keeping that with the injured boys, is good for us to still feel a part of it.” On his return, the ex-Aberdeen prospect said that the Falkirk fans’ backing and support ‘put the fire in his belly’ to get back on the pitch after such a frustrating start to the season. Ross reckons he is more than ready to play his part. He said: “I feel like if I wasn’t getting back up to those levels with my speed, my agility, my sharpness, that I wouldn’t be allowed to come back into training because they know that’s my biggest strength. I feel like I’m as ready as I could be to get back into training. You’re probably never going to feel 100 per cent when you go back into your first session, first game, but I feel like I’m as close as I could be to doing that. I can’t thank the fans enough for the support they’ve given me and the time they’ve given me to get back. I felt like I started the season well and I hope they’ve seen that. The well wishes I got when it was announced I was going to be out for a significant amount of time, it was overwhelming. It put the fire in my belly to get back on the pitch as quickly as I could to play in front of those fans.”
