Liam Boyce on Hearts injury nightmare as he reveals Robbie Neilson gesture that helped 'devastated' striker

A shive shot through every nerve-ending in Liam Boyce’s body as he lay on the Tynecastle turf – and he immediately knew his cruciate had gone.

Last August’s agonising breakdown against St Johnstone wasn’t the first time he’d suffered a horror ACL tear after all. Weeks later, when the diagnosis was confirmed and the prospect of a ruined season set in, that shiver turned to cold fear that in the final year of his contract his future had been plunged into jeopardy.

It’s no wonder the Northern Irishman feels like he owes Hearts big time. Owes them for their belief and support in handing him a new deal just 14 weeks into his 11-month absence. Now it’s payback time. And Boyce is determined to show he’s lost none of the magic that made him a first pick a year ago – and convinced Jambos chiefs and former boss Robbie Neilson to tie him down on that new deal. The 32-year-old is back in full training as Hearts go through the pre-season pain in the unforgiving heat of southern Spain.

And he said: “The new contract was massive. When you get injured you’re devastated. Then when you realise you’re out of contract and you think about rushing back to play a couple of games to prove yourself again and have a chance of a contract.

“But Robbie phoned me two weeks before the operation and said ‘we want you to stay at the club and don’t want you having to worry or rush back. We want you to come back as yourself’. I really appreciated that from the club. It helped me settle down and have some security.

“I didn’t want to rush and risk it happening again. It was massive for my family because my daughter’s in school and it’s important to have security and know you’re in the right place.

“All I’ve wanted in football is to feel wanted by my club