St Johnstone’s Ryan McGowan has credited the Australian sunshine for his speedy recovery from injury as he prepares to make his comeback against Aberdeen on Saturday.

McGowan was ruled out for several months after tearing his groin in mid-January and given permission to head home for a holiday.

But he confounded the medical predictions and is looking to provide a boost to St Johnstone’s slim top-six hopes.

McGowan said: “I was quite lucky, I got two weeks off. They were expecting it to be a much longer injury so I got two weeks off and got back to Australia  to see some friends and family, which was really good and I think actually helped in my recovery. I am back a lot quicker than expected.

“It was a good time to get back because normally you wouldn’t get back in January/February. It was Aussie summer, which was good. It was a good time to switch off.

“I was expecting to be out for a pretty long time so it was good to adjust to that news, get a break, see some family and friends and get back to doing rehab once I got back.

“The physios will be delighted I am out of their hair. I am not good at watching or being on the side. But I worked pretty hard in getting back.

“I should probably be out for another six weeks but I have been back training for the last two weeks. I have been feeling really good and available for selection.

“I was only expecting to catch possibly the last two games so for me it’s a great little boost we have so many games left.”

Saints are seven points off the top six with four games left so there is no room for error in Saturday’s game.

“The league is pretty tight so if we can get a couple of wins we are looking to still get into the top six if possible,” McGowan said.