Dunfermline: Matty Todd returns from injury at Partick Thistle

The 23-year-old made his first appearance of the season in competitive fixtures during Saturday's defeat at Partick Thistle, after almost three months out with a fractured collarbone sustained during a pre-season game at East Fife.

His comeback, as a first half substitute for David Wotherspoon, who was forced off at Firhill with a tight hamstring, was a boost for both the team and the player, who has endured bad luck over the last year or so.

At the end of Dunfermline's successful 2022/23 League One title-winning season, Todd had his appendix removed, and then needed an operation on his nose, before suffering an ankle problem in the very early stages of last term.

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That required surgery, and saw him miss the start of Athletic's Championship campaign, keeping him out until November, before he missed further matches in January and February because of a hamstring issue.

He needed another operation after injuring his collarbone at the end of June and, speaking after the Jags match, Todd said: "On a personal note it's good. I'm buzzing to be back.

"It's been another tough three months out injured, but I'm back now, so hopefully I can just kick on, keep myself fit, and look forward to what's next.

"I think this one was the toughest. I think I said that to you a couple of weeks ago, that this one was the toughest, just due to the fact that I'd came back to pre-season, I was flying, looking forward to hitting the ground running at the start of the year, and then it's just all taken away so quickly with an innocuous tackle in the first friendly.

"But I've worked my socks off in the rehab and I'm buzzing to be back."

Although his introduction to the action came quicker than anticipated, Todd felt he got up to speed quickly during a scrappy, physical affair, after which he reported he felt fine, other than his legs "feeling it a wee bit".

Todd came on for David Wotherspoon during the first half at Firhill. (Image: Craig Brown.)

"Obviously a lot of work goes on at training with the sports scientist and the physio," Todd continued.

"They've been brilliant with me. They've taken time, but they've been brilliant, and they've put me through every single fitness test I think they could do, so they knew I was ready.

"They knew I was ready. They knew I'm fit, I'm a fit lad anyway, so today was a wee bit unexpected, getting the shout so early on in the game, but I just came on to help the boys.

"Unfortunately today, we lost the game, and we're disappointed, but on a personal note, I'm just delighted to be back.

"It was a scrap out there today, and that's what I said. The boys worked for each other throughout the whole game.

"I thought first half, backs to the wall, everyone was fighting for each other. It was a dogged performance in the first half, and then the message at half-time was 'can we get the ball down and play', and we never really did that.

"We never strung any real, passages of play together, which is disappointing."