INJURED Morton star Lewis Strapp fears he has already played his last game for them after revealing that he will be leaving Cappielow at the end of the season.

The 23-year-old has told the Tele that he will be moving on from his local club after a 12 year stay.

He progressed through the ranks since the youth academy’s inception back in 2011 and became a first team stalwart and fans favourite after breaking into the top team in 2019.

Strapp says he has now been informed that he isn’t a part of Ton chief Dougie Imrie’s long term plans.

And he admits that he may not get a chance to say goodbye, as he faces a race against time to be back fit for the final game of the season whilst he continues on his road to recovery from a chipped bone in his knee sustained against Celtic back in January.

Strapp exclusively told the Tele: “I’ve found out that I'll not be involved in the gaffer’s plans for next year, which I just need to take in my stride now.

“I’ve got something concrete now that it’s time to shake hands and move on.

"I’ve been here for over ten years, the club’s all I've known so who knows, maybe having a new test, new surroundings might not be the worst thing for me in the long run.

“I've got to respect the manager’s decision - that’s why he’s the manager and I'm a player.

"If I'm not in his plans or what he wants from the team then so be it."

Strapp admits his injury rehab has been tough.

He said: “The last eleven weeks have purely been about trying to navigate my way back to fitness, trusting the right people and trying to find my way.

“But when you’re sat at home, I won’t lie, it’s tough to take.

"To try and flip it into a positive I'm just glad that I did it playing football.

"It's been hard because it's such a rare injury in football and the only thing you can compare it to is any sort of cruciate ligament injury. It gives the perception of that kind of injury, which thankfully it's not.

“It is a bit of a race against time to be back fit before the end of the season and with the position the club are in just now it’s hard to say whether that will be the case or not.

"On the other hand you don’t want to rush back.

“If I'm not there then I'll have to accept it. It’s not the ending I'd want because I would like the chance to have a final run out at Cappielow.”

The Ton academy product’s form over the last four seasons saw him attract reported interest from clubs near and far, including Georgian side Dinamo Tbilisi and St Mirren.

And he confirmed that Georgian champs DID make contact earlier this year.

Strapp hopes that both he and the club can continue to kick on as they prepare to part ways.

The 23-year-old insists he will leave the club a fan as he becomes another Ton product to have progressed through the academy and then leave for nothing.

He said: “You’ve just got to respect it. There have been a few things in the past that have maybe come to a head in regards to moving on.

“You hear things and rumours here and there, like the St Mirren one back when I broke into the first team, but there was contact from Tbilisi in January.

“When you play football, if you’re at any club and you get a chance to move on and make a living, then you want to go and try it and it’s no disrespect to the club you’re at and in this case that’s Morton.

“That’s not me saying I don’t want to be at Morton, you just want to see how far you can go in your career. But there’s always got to be an ending to a story.

“I'd like to think I've been a good servant to the club and I just hope that both myself and the club can continue to kick on. I’m a fan if anything.”