Flying Partick Thistle full-back Mustapha Dumbuya has revealed that he will have to play through the pain barrier for the next year as he nears a return to the Jags first team.

The 29-year-old has been out of action since rupturing his Achilles tendon last summer, but got his first 45 minutes of football under his belt in Friday’s friendly defeat to Lokeren.

And while he hopes to be ready to play some part in the Scottish Cup tie against Formartine United this Saturday, he will have to do so in the knowledge that he will suffer for it afterwards.

The niggling pain from his injury will remain for at least the next 12 months, but Dumbuya is ready to deal with that in order to get back out on the field, and he says it won’t affect his whole-hearted approach.

“I knew it was going to happen and it was never something that was going to just go away,” Dumbuya said.

“The surgeon told me that I was going to have these problems up until about a year after the operation, so I just have to try to play through it.

“No matter what age you are, you always want to play as much football as you can. It’s a short career, so I just want to get back to full fitness and get back into the team as soon as possible.

“I’m nearly at full-fitness but I’m still getting niggles here and there. That was bound to happen after such a long time out and especially with the Achilles, which is not something that is going to heal overnight. It’s going to be a process and it will be niggling for a while.

“It was just great to get back out there on the field, and it was really good to get 45 minutes under my belt. I felt good and I’ll just take it from there.

“It was really nice to get a little bit of sunshine as well and be in among the boys.

“I’ve been stepping things up and done a few double sessions in Spain, so bit by bit I’m getting stronger and fitter every day.

“Hopefully I can play on Saturday, that’s my target. I’m going to see how this week goes in training, but me and the manager have set the goal to try and get me involved in that game.”

Despite the disappointing end to Thistle’s week in La Manga, Dumbuya says that it will be of real benefit to the squad, who made the most of the warm weather to get punishing double sessions under their belt.

“We’re not reading too much into the loss,” he said. “Before the game the boys were working really hard. We played really well to be fair, but they were a good side.

“It was a good week away and I think the boys are prepared for the weeks ahead. The club deserve massive credit, and I’m sure all of the boys appreciate what they have done.

“Some people probably needed the break because there were a few niggles here and there, so it was good timing in that regard but bad timing from a results perspective.

“We had been doing well and our form was great, but hopefully we can keep up that momentum.”

An interesting sub-plot to Dumbuya’s return is the competition between three players for the one berth on the right of the defence or in the wing-back role.

Ziggy Gordon and Christie Elliott will also be hoping to stake a claim for the position, and Dumbuya reckons it will bring out the best in each player.

“There’s no animosity between the three of us,” he said.

“We urge each other on in training and whoever the manager picks just have to do our best and try to stay in the team.

“It shows the strength of our squad, and it’s great to have competition in football because without it you might not always play your best.”