BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
FALKIRK skipper David McCracken insists he is back to full fitness after his pre-season was curtailed by an operation on his HEAD.
The Bairns defender had to have a cyst cut from the top of his crown after specialists voiced concerns it could burst during a game.
The 34-year-old was forced to miss the club’s pre-season matches and Betfred Cup group stages following the surgery and had to wait until the opening-day league defeat to Hibs for a first-team outing.
The former Dundee United and St Johnstone defender has since led Falkirk to back-to-back wins over Dumbarton and Elgin City, scoring his first goal of the campaign against the latter, and reckons he’s back to tip-top condition.
He explained: “I missed a couple of games at the start of pre-season and a couple of League Cup games, and it just took a wee bit of time to get back up to speed.
“But I’m feeling absolutely fine now. I’ve got a few games under my belt, so I’m back to normal.
“I had a cyst cut out of the top of my head. I’ve actually had it for six or seven years.
“But it got to the stage where the Doc told me I should get it cut out in case it burst.
DAMAGE
“The only time I could get it done was right before we came back for pre-season, which was better than getting it done in the middle of the season.
“I could have damaged it heading the ball and that’s not something I wanted to happen.”
As well as returning to full fitness, McCracken has another welcome consequence of putting the operation firmly in the past.
He added: “And now I can get my haircut properly!
“I had to have it shaved off for the operation and I got my first haircut last week, and I was buzzing with that!”