MORTON utility man Michael Miller has confirmed he is suffering from plantar fasciitis — but believes he could be back in action as soon as a week on Saturday.

The condition — which affects the sole of the foot, specifically the heel — forced former Ton skipper Stuart McCaffrey to retire from the game aged 33 in 2012.

Strike star Peter MacDonald also missed the first half of the Cappielow club’s 2012-13 campaign with the same problem.

And when manager Jim Duffy recently revealed that Miller was the latest Ton player to have complications with his plantar fascia, it sparked fears he too could spend months on the sidelines.

Fortunately, the 19-year-old has been diagnosed with a less severe form and insists there has already been a significant improvement.

He told the Tele: “It is plantar fasciitis. I’ve had it coming on for four weeks now and it’s been murder to be honest, really frustrating.

“It’s a weird injury that can be caused by a lot of different things, a while. I should have pulled out as soon as I realised, but I thought it was just a bit of tightness that would have cleared up within a few days.

“I ended up training on it for a couple of weeks before I had to rest it.

“Looking back in hindsight, I’d have taken a few days off as soon as I felt it.

“But it’s definitely feeling a lot better now.

“Compared to when my foot was at its sorest, it’s night and day.

“I started jogging again on Monday and I’ve been doing spin classes down at the Waterfront most days.

“I’m aiming to be back training within the next week or so and to be available for at least some of the Scottish Cup game against Airdrie.” The former Celtic youth had heard the horror stories relating to the likes of McCaffrey and MacDonald and so was relieved to feel a significant improvement as soon as he took time out.

He added: “Alyson [Fielding, Morton physio] mentioned the ex-players who’d had it and the manager had heard similar stories, so it did cross my mind that I could have been out for a long time.

“But I think they had played with it for months and months whereas I’d only played on it for a couple of weeks and caught it early.

“That’s why I just took time off. It wasn’t getting better and I didn’t want to take a chance with it — but I knew within one week of completely resting it that it wasn’t as bad as other players have had.

“Mine is a less severe case and I’ve been told that it [the recovery process] can take up to four weeks.

“That’s me just coming up to four weeks now, so fingers crossed I’m back soon. I’m dying to get back playing.”