THOMAS O’Ware says rest will be his ‘best friend’ as he attempts to recover from a stress fracture in his ankle.

O’Ware has been unable to take part in Morton’s full pre-season schedule since undergoing ankle surgery back in May, despite being part of the opening few days, including a closed-door friendly with Premiership opposition Partick Thistle.

The defender suffered a seemingly separate injury to the same foot as his previous issue and has been unable to join his team-mates on the training pitch since.

And he admits he’s going to have to grin and bear it as he recuperates from the problem with the new season just around the corner.

He told the Tele: “I’ve got a hairline fracture in the foot I got my operation on, but it’s supposed to be that you’re out six weeks from after it happens. 

“I’ve done two weeks of just resting it thinking it’s just to do with my ankle, so hopefully it’s no longer than a month.

“They’ve said it’s separate to the injury I already had because it’s on the inside of my foot and I got the original operation on the outside. 

“But it’s probably been caused by my body compensating for my operation or maybe I’ve rushed it a wee bit, I don’t know. But it’s nothing from the operation that’s caused it.

“We started back on the Thursday and the first few days I was just doing strength work. 

“Then I trained the full week, played the friendly against Partick Thistle and haven’t done anything since then. 

“Certainly not as much as I’d have liked, but I’ll need to accept it. Rest will be my best friend just now to try and get back fit.”

O’Ware and Ton skipper Lee Kilday are both out of action for the foreseeable future, and the 24-year-old admits the club are down to the bare bones defensively.

But with Betfred Cup action at the forefront of Ton’s season preparation, O’Ware is taking the only speck of minor consolation that he’s not missing any league football just yet.

He said: “From the team’s point of view, we all want everyone else to be fit.

“So with myself and Lee both out, it’s not ideal.

“From a personal point of view it’s obviously not great being injured.

“Everyone has started already and I’m a wee bit behind everyone, so I need to try and be positive to get back.

“I suppose the only positives from it is that it’s the Betfred Cup first and not straight into league action.

“But these cup games are always good for a sort of warm-up for the season so I’ll miss those.

“I’ve missed pre-season even though I’ve only done it a week, so I’ll need to try and get myself back as quick as I can, try to get a few bounce games and get back into the swing of things as quickly as possible.”