Dunfermline's Kieran Ngwenya opens up on injury and club form

The 22-year-old arrived at KDM Group East End Park in the summer after leaving Aberdeen, and says he is really enjoying his time with the Pars.

Dunfermline are only his second permanent club, having previously had loan spells with Kelty Hearts, Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle, and said he didn't want to have the "reputation of being injury prone" as he battled with a hernia problem.

An operation has now resolved it, and the full-back is confident that supporters are yet to see the best of him.

"I'm really enjoying my football at the moment. I think it's good to be finding a little bit of form," he said this week.

"I settled in really well with the boys, so I'm enjoying my time here a lot.

"I went through a period at the start of the season when I was battling with a bit of a sports hernia, so I had a bit of trouble with my groins. For a couple of months I was just trying to manage it.

"I was in late every day, in every day, just working, doing my rehab, trying to get back fit, but it got to a stage where I wasn't making any improvements.

"I've had my operation now and I'm feeling physically a lot better, so hopefully I can kick on from here and build some momentum in the team.

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"I don't think I'm in my best form yet; I think I've still got more to give. That was only my first start back after my surgery last week (at Falkirk), so I think if I can keep building week on week, then I think I'll be in a good place.

"I think it was probably the right decision at the time. I wasn't really improving too much, but I feel a lot better now, so hopefully I can kick on and won't have any more problems in the future."

When asked if opting for surgery was a difficult decision to make when arriving at a new club, Ngwenya replied: "Yeah, especially when you go straight into a new club, you don't want the reputation of being injury prone.

"You don't want to be missing games at the start. You want to hit the ground running and make a good first impression with the boys, the staff, the fans especially, so it was a tough decision to make.

Kieran Ngwenya in action for Dunfermline in their recent match at Falkirk. (Image: Craig Brown.)

"I probably tried to fight it for maybe a bit too long, but I've got it done now and it's in the past, so now I can just get my head down and focus on football."

Ngwenya's arrival has seen him step into the void that was left by Josh Edwards, who departed Dunfermline in the summer.

After five years in black and white, the popular 24-year-old left for English Football League (EFL) outfit, Charlton Athletic, but his successor on the left side of defence says he didn't feel any additional pressure stepping into his shoes.

"I mean, probably in my first couple of days it was mentioned, but I didn't really feel the pressure," Ngwenya added.

"We're certainly different players. No-one's going to come in and replicate exactly what he did.

"There's stuff that he can do that I can't do, and there's stuff that I can do that he can't do, so it's a case of we're coming in to fill the same role, but we'll both do it differently, so I can't really compare myself to anyone else."