David Turnbull believes that failing a Celtic medical saved his career.
The midfielder was on the brink of completing a £3m transfer from Motherwell last summer and preparing to join in a light Celtic training session ahead of the formalities on his move.
Talks with Neil Lennon had gone as far as discussing his pre-season training schedules with pictures emerging of Turnbull in a Celtic shirt taking part in a club TV interview.
The midfielder had undergone his medical but as he prepared to take part in training the deal took a very unexpected twist.
Had he not undergone that medical his knee injury could have flared up during training or in a match.
Turnbull told The Sun:
I went for a meeting with Neil Lennon and he spoke to me about what his plans were. Then the Celtic physio came in and said ‘I’m going to need to speak to you’. He told us I wouldn’t be able to train because something had come up in the medical.
Lennon said ‘Can he not even do some light running?’ The answer was no. They had seen something in the scan. Lennon just told me to go up the road and said it would be fine.
I got a call on Sunday saying that I had to fly to Belgium the next day to see a specialist. It was a mad few days. Before we flew there, I was told I’d need an operation and I just thought ‘F*** me’.
After his knee condition was highlighted Celtic and Motherwell failed to renegotiate the transfer.
Turnbull made two substitute appearances for Motherwell before football was suspended and also signed a new contract keeping him at Fir Park until June 2022.