Hearts striker Mike Tullberg feared for his career after spending five months on the sidelines with a recurring thigh muscle tear. The 23 year old told Hearts TV: "I was nervous because it kept recurring.

"At first, I thought maybe two or three weeks and I would be back in the summer.

"Then it recurred again here, and it happened again and again.

"Of course I was afraid because I never had one muscle tear before.

"Then I had one, and two, and three, and four, and five in the same muscle."

Tullberg, who returned to his native Denmark for treatment, admits taking out his frustration on those closest to him.

"Luckily, I have a good girlfriend who can take care of me," he said.

"It was a hard time for her as well because I'm not easy to be around when I'm angry 24 hours a day."

He added: "There was a good atmosphere in the dressing room. I was happy - one of the best days I've had in my life, because it has been a terrible time for me.

"It's nice to be back. It's nice to be around my team-mates again, to train with them, to enjoy, have fun.

"I gave the Danish doctors a hard job to solve.

"I'm not happy it took a long time to solve the problem but most importantly they healed the muscle right so I'm able to play again."

He added: "I'm looking forward to playing at Tynecastle in front of our own fans.

"I'm looking forward to the rest of the season now, just concentrating on each day, and trying to get better and better."