It is a great relief to know I will see some action before the end of the season. At first when my hamstring went I thought it was all over for me until August. However, we have some excellent physios at St Andrews, who have devised a programme to get me back a lot sooner than expected.

It is terribly frustrating to be on the sidelines again. It was only a few weeks ago I was making a comeback from injury in the derby at Villa Park. I came on as a substitute for what was my first game in a month and felt really good.

I absolutely loved being out there again, and was glad to play my part in salvaging a draw. I walked off the pitch excited about the next couple of months and couldn’t wait for our FA Cup 5th round replay against Sunderland a few days later.

Then after only eight minutes of that game I stretched for the ball and felt a sharp pain in my hamstring. I thought ‘Oh, no. Not again!’ I couldn’t believe it. I lay there on the turf feeling absolutely gutted. It was very sore and I couldn’t walk, so I was carried off on a stretcher. I was on crutches for about a week afterwards.

To make the evening even worse we were, of course, knocked out by Sunderland. Having seen how the draw has since panned out, we know we would have been in the weaker half with a great chance of making it to Cardiff.

The morning after the game Steve Bruce told me to take a holiday. I really appreciated that. I went down to Tenerife for ten days to get some sunshine and relaxation, and it helped me deal with the disappointment. I realised I couldn’t feel sorry for myself and came home determined to slip on a blue shirt again this season.

Birmingham have already been in touch with Michael Owen and Liverpool to get some advice on how to deal with the injury I have. Michael has suffered from the same problem and has offered some useful tips. That, and some hard work, should hopefully see me back in just over a month.