Summer signing Scott Twine opens up on injury nightmare that plagued the start of his career at Burnley

The 23-year-old arrived at Turf Moor as the EFL League One Player of the Year having also cleaned up at MK Dons' end-of-season awards ceremony.

The ex-Swindon Town man, who became Vincent Kompany's first signing in English football, had scored 20 times in the third tier, including four against Plymouth Argyle on the final day of term.

However, after making a cameo at Huddersfield Town on the opening day of the campaign, Twine broke down in training at Gawthorpe.

What started out as a minor muscle injury developed into something that would keep him out of action for 19 weeks as his condition gradually worsened.

"There were times when I was down, because I'd never been in that position before, and coming from such a high last season to not being able to show what I can do on the training ground, there were some low points," he said.

"It just gradually got worse. It was one little muscle and then it went into other areas. It just kept getting worse and at times it just felt like it wasn't getting any better. In the end I had an injection that really helped it.

"It did leave me frustrated. It went on longer than I thought it would and I think when I came back I’d missed so much of the work the lads do everyday in training."

With Kompany acting coy about his 'marquee' signing's state, speculation surrounding the cause of his absence spread like wildfire.

Homesickness was one of the motives doing the rounds, but Twine quickly put those theories to bed when speaking to the media ahead of Wednesday night's FA Cup tie against Fleetwood Town.

He said: “I think there was some real down moments in that. It’s my first real proper injury, so there was times I struggled, but everyone around the club was good to me.

"Everyone helped me massively; if it wasn't for the players, the staff, people at home, then it might've been a little bit different, but everyone was so helpful towards me.

"The lads are really good; they've made me feel welcome from day one. If that wasn't the case then maybe I would've felt a bit homesick, but I never felt like that at all.

"I still enjoyed coming in every day, even though I wasn't training. I still enjoyed being around the lads, having a laugh and a joke with them and that's never changed."

Conversations with ex-Belgium international Kompany also helped the healing process with the time between his appearances at the John Smith's Stadium and Loftus Road registering at 133 days.

And, despite being a Manchester United fan, Twine admitted that those moments with the Manchester City legend stopped him from losing his head on numerous occasions.

Twine, who has now made 11 appearances in all competitions, said: "Vinny spoke to me a few times one on one which really helped. He had been a player, he understood the frustrations I was going through, especially at times when it didn't seem like you were getting any better.

"As an injured player you do have low moments, you do lose your head at times, and he reassured me that it would be okay, everyone goes through periods where they feel helpless, so he was really helpful and supportive of me. I really appreciated that.

"For me he is an unbelievable coach and manager and I love working under him. All the players were supportive of me and coming back, when you could see the finish line, that was a lot easier then.

"I think it has made me stronger. It's made me hungrier, I never want to be in that position ever again, I'll always look at the bigger picture now."