Accies defender Jamie Hamilton back on pitch after two years as midfield star 'delays op' to help promotion push

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Hamilton Accies defender Jamie Hamilton played his first game for the club in almost two years yesterday. The 22-year-old has been out injured long-term after a series of setbacks in his road to recovery from a recurring thigh injury.

But he took a step closer to a return to competitive action after 23 months out by featuring in a bounce game at New Douglas Park.

Hamilton has not pulled on an Accies jersey in competitive play since April 2022 in a 1-0 win over Morton.He was close to being on the bench for Saturday’s 1-0 win over Edinburgh City and Rankin said after that game: “The good news is we are seeing Jamie Hamilton coming back. “He was involved in the matchday squad on Saturday for us, which is a big bonus. “Last Thursday I thought he was going to be involved in Saturday’s game but he got a wee groin strain. “But he could possibly feature in a bounce game this week and be in the squad for Stirling on Saturday.” Meanwhile, Rankin has revealed midfielder Jamie Barjonas is playing through the pain barrier with an undisclosed issue.

He said: “Barjo has postponed an operation to play through the pain barrier and get towards the end of the season for us. “He is doing ever-so well at managing that but at some point we might have to take him out, get the op and bring him back in.”Rankin also provided an update on Ben Williamson who was taken off in the second half of Saturday's win2, adding: "Ben felt his ankle through the week and now his hamstring has started to tighten up."Where we are with injuries just now, Ben is too big a player for us to take any risk with. "Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport onX via@LanLiveSport, like us onFacebookor find us onInstagramfor the latest sports news, pictures and video.