Father-of-four, Ryan McGowan, lay in his hospital bed wondering if his professional football career was at an end.

The Aussie-born defender’s mother even flew from his native country to be at his bedside after a leg infection.

Now, McGowan (pictured by Nigel Duncan before the surgery) is recovering and hoping to be back in contention for a place in the Livingston line-up after the next international break.

But the hospitalisation, and the potential consequences, have given the former Hearts, Dundee United and St Johnstone player, a shock.

And the 22-times capped international thanked the medical staff who treated him in Edinburgh’s Western General and Royal Infirmary.

McGowan said: “At one point, it was about getting out (of hospital) with two legs.”

He spent over three weeks in

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