AT 13, Jack Iredale had no idea his 15 trips a night to get drinks and go to the toilet would lead to him being diagnosed with diabetes.

The Morton left-back has managed the condition ever since, injecting insulin to control his blood sugar levels while chasing his dream of professional football.

Those extra trips to the bathroom, as well as losing seven kilos in just two weeks, were a big red flag for his parents and after being taken to hospital he was given the diagnosis.

Hibs-bound Celtic midfielder Scott Allan is another player in Scotland who has the life-changing condition, but Iredale says it hasn't limited him at all in his career to date.

And while it may have been a hindrance to some people, the Greenock-born Australian reckons it helped make him more responsible when he was younger.

He told SportTimes: “When I first got the diagnosis I knew a little bit about what it meant because a few of my friends had it.

"But even then I was sitting in the doctor's room I didn’t know what was going on, I had just started high school and what it meant for me long term with my health.

"The GP we’ve got at home in Perth in Australia is really good friends with our family and he assured me I would be fine.

“It’s probably lead to me even having an even healthier lifestyle than what I would have, and the fact there are all sorts of diabetic sports people in the world calmed me down a little bit about it.

“Once I learned about it and started to go manage it day to day, it’s something that I would have to manage but it wouldn’t limit me with my sport.”

The former Perth Glory and ECU Joondalup player checks his sugar levels regularly, in particular during training and on game days.

The left-back can check it up to eight times before kick-off, and always keeps a sugary drink with the club physio or in his own bag.

While Iredale was fortunate he never personally had trouble with it when he was younger, he gave some encouraging advice to anyone who had been struggling with diabetes.

The 22-year-old added: “I never had a hard time of it, but there are people who aren’t as lucky as I am about it or maybe didn't have much confidence when they were younger.

“It makes me quite upset to be honest, my mum messages me every now and then with people asking her how Jack managed to deal with it as their kids were getting a hard time with it.

“It never changed anything for me, it made me more responsible and stronger and less of an idiot really.

“It might seem bad but it shouldn’t change anything, it’s something you shouldn’t worry about. It’s not a barrier with anything you want to do.

"You’re still the same as everyone else and you just have to think about one extra thing and that’s all it is."