Kev back from brain bug scare

Sep 5 2008 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

Kev back from brain bug scare

PERTH casualty Kevin Rutkiewicz returned to training this week for the first time since a health scare required a two-day hospital stay.

And he has set his sights on a return to action in next week’s away game at Ross County.

The former Aberdeen defender admits he can recall precious little of his nightmare display against Partick, which culminated in a second half withdrawal and subsequent medical attention in Glasgow.

A series of tests were conducted over a 48-hour period.

Yesterday the defender, who has shed around eight pounds, revealed: “It was all a bit scary. But apparently I had viral meningitis, which thankfully is less sinister than bacterial meningitis.

“It just crept up on me. I had absolutely no warning before the match. It wasn’t as if I felt ill during the warm up.

“The doctors think the virus was there and heading the ball possibly triggered things. I developed a migraine and the two things together knocked my system for six.

“I can’t remember much about what happened. My memory of the game is hazy. I can recall the first few minutes but beyond that it’s just bits and pieces.

“After I was subbed, I’m told I was dozing off in the dugout and by the time I got back to the changing room I was becoming less and less responsive. I was taken to hospital and it wasn’t until the middle of the Sunday afternoon that I started to come round.

“At that point it felt like a double decker bus had hit me but I was probably worse on the Saturday, even if it didn’t register with me.”

But now Rutkiewicz is desperate to help kick-start St Johnstone’s campaign

“I had a week of doing nothing and barely eating. But by the start of this week I was jogging and now I just want to put this episode behind me.

“We’re not going to press the panic button. We’re all angry and frustrated about what’s happened and desperate to put things right.

“We’re right behind the gaffer and, make no mistake about it, we will rectify this situation.

“There’s no excuses. We’re not going to point to the injuries we’ve had. With the squad we’ve got we should be doing so much better than this.

“The only saving grace is that we could have been much worse placed as a result of this run.

“Despite the bad start we’ve made we’re still maybe only a couple of wins away from getting right back in there.

“But we have to stop looking at results elsewhere. We need to get our own house in order first.”