'I'll tell people a shark bit me!' – Ross County's Josh Sims admits nasty gash suffered against Aberdeen could have been much worse after returning in Dundee stalemate
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After returning from injury against Dundee, Ross County's Josh Sims says he was lucky that the nasty gash he suffered against Aberdeen did not lead to a longer lay-off.
The former Southampton man is no stranger to enforced time out from the game.
Before moving to Dingwall, the 26-year-old spent more than a year out of football after a turbulent spell where he suffered hamstring and glute injuries, fatigue as a knock-on effect from Covid-19, ulcerative colitis and myocarditis.
When the challenge by Ryan Duncan immediately left Sims in considerable pain at the end of last month, then, it was easy to fear the worst.
A long stay overnight in hospital resulted in nothing more serious than stitches needed though, and with fixture postponements in the time since Sims only ended up missing a single match – the league defeat to Hearts just days after going down against the Dons.
"It has been a bit of a mad one really – you don't want postponed games, but in my situation it was actually quite beneficial," Sims explained.
"I've still got it bandaged up right now, but it won't be long before I don't need that. It has all healed which is good and there are no issues with it.
"I started training at the back end of last week, so I was only actually out for about two, two and-a-half weeks.
"To be honest, it was really painful, but I thought it was just like a kick on the shin and it would ease off. It was only when I pulled my sock down and literally saw a hole in my leg that I was like 'that's not good'.
"I think naturally, at the time, you fear it's going to be worse than it was. In the end it was just a deep cut, which was lucky in a way because it could have been a lot worse.
"It was just a matter of letting it heal, but when it looked as bad as it did – with everything that has gone on before – you do think that way. Fortunately it wasn't too bad.
"The doctor and medical staff are brilliant, so we went to hospital that night and got it all stitched up. They didn't want it to get infected, so we had to be cautious, but it's all good now."
There was an outpouring of sympathy for Sims afterwards – helped along in part by manager Malky Mackay describing his leg as being like a banana skin that had been peeled open.
That was a description the Englishman was not even aware of, and while he admits that was accurate his positive nature has been unaffected.
"It wasn't pretty, put it that way," Sims said.
"It was split open and it was so clean. When it first happened, there wasn't even any blood or anything, my leg was just completely sliced open. It wasn't nice to look at.
"I'll have a pretty good scar on my leg now. Maybe I can tell people a shark bit me!"
Sims returned to action as a second half substitute against Dundee on Tuesday night – County's first game this month after back-to-back postponements due to inclement weather.
Although it ended in a stalemate, Sims is adamant that both he and the rest of the Staggies squad will be stronger for the minutes under their belt going into Saturday's next Premiership test at Motherwell.
"We just said it in the changing room, there's nothing better than games.
"It's good for fitness and sharpness, but we're also footballers who want to play matches, so the more the better.
"We've got a good squad, and everyone is going to be ready.
"We're going to need the whole squad with the mileage we're doing in such a short space of time, and everyone is raring to go. Nobody's head is down if they're on the bench.
"It's going to be a tough few games but we're looking forward to it.
"Every game in the league is tough – even though Dundee are the new boys in the league this season, they're a good side, so there's not an easy game at all.
"Everyone can beat everyone, so you've got to be really on your mettle in every game and give everything you can, because it's not easy to win games in this league."
