FORMER Rangers winger David Templeton admitted he came very close to hanging up his boots as he struggled to find a solution to his injury woes. The 28 year-old described the last two years as “mentally horrendous” as the Ibrox club’s medical staff failed to pinpoint the reasons behind his recurring knee problems.

After being released by Rangers last summer, the player decided to take it upon himself to try one more time to get to the bottom of it and struck lucky with a London-based doctor who came up with an answer at the first time of trying.

He revealed: “Mentally the last two years have been horrendous to be honest. For about 13 months I didn’t know what the problem was. Last summer I was actually going to retire. Then I went to see Andrew Williams, a specialist in London, who put a camera in my knee and found the problem straight away.

“There was a tear in the deep portion of the medial ligament. It took too long to figure out that that’s what it was but at least I managed to get it sorted and I’m enjoying it now. Before that every time I tried to come back it felt as though I was tearing it all over again.

“I tried injections and all different kinds of stuff so to eventually get to the bottom of it was a huge relief. I was going to have to get a real job, just like everyone else who’s forced to retire. Thankfully, though, it didn’t come to that.

“I don’t know why it took as long as it did. We tried a lot of different things which didn’t work but I didn’t know what the problem was until I visited Andrew. This should have been sorted sooner and it’s mind-boggling that it wasn’t.

“Andrew is based in London. I went to see him in August and he said straight away he thought he knew what the issue is and he spotted the tear as soon as the camera went in. I had to sort that and pay for it myself, which wasn’t ideal but I didn’t care because all I wanted was to get back playing again.

“Thankfully, it sorted me out because this was the last throw of the dice. Andrew explained I’d have no other options if this didn’t work. My agent is based in London and he has a few other players who’ve dealt with him. The physio at Rangers, after reading a report about my condition, also suggested that I visit him and he made the appointment for me.”

Now Templeton feels like a new man again and it is Hamilton Accies who are reaping the benefits. The winger was a stand-out in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Dundee - winning a penalty and almost scoring what would have been a late contender for goal of the month – and hopes he can now play his part as Accies head into a two-legged play-off against Dundee United.

He added: “My last start was against Peterhead for Rangers in August 2015 so it is good to finally be back. I was a little surprised to start although I thought I did feel I had done okay when I came on against Ross County last week.

“I feel I did well again although it is up to the gaffer whether I start again on Thursday. Hopefully I can play my part in helping them stay up and then kick on for next season.

“I actually signed a contract after the game the other night so my head is now settled. I can look forward to coming back in next season and hopefully we will be in the Premiership. We are gutted we haven’t stayed up automatically but we still have a chance.

“We have a job to do and we want to stay in the top division. For us it’s massive to be playing against the Old Firm, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs so we need to stay up.”