Gary Miller, the St Johnstone defender, has been given further incentive to reach the final of the Scottish League Cup after his father suffered a broken leg when he was involved in a workplace accident.
The injury will now prevent him from taking his place at Tynecastle tomorrow when his son endeavours to help St Johnstone reach their third League Cup final.
Having travelled the country to watch his son in action for both Ross County and St Johnstone, that has been a particular sore point for Miller senior. He will instead be made to sit at home and watch as the Perth side face Aberdeen in the first of the competition's semi-finals.
He has since been cheered up by both his son and grandson, the St Johnstone defender making a special effort to visit his stricken father in hospital ahead of the trip to Edinburgh. "My dad was at work at Yarrows in the BAE Systems when he was run over by a forklift truck," said Miller. "He was wearing protective earmuffs while cleaning up so he didn't hear it.
"I got a phone call from my mum and she was in a real panic. I got a real fright but mum later texted to say it was a broken leg. I took my wee boy, Ace, to see his grandad and I'd told him he'd been run over by a forklift. His first question was: 'where's the tyre tracks on your face?' That really cheered my dad up and he had a laugh.
"It could have been so much worse but the wee man was wanting blood and tyre tracks over him. I think he wanted it to be like Road Runner and Wile E Coyote or Tom and Jerry."
St Johnstone, of course, intend to avoid crashing out of the competition tomorrow, not least Tommy Wright. The Northern Irishman was named manager at the start of the season and was told that winning a trophy was part of the job description.
"When I got the job the chairman [Steve Brown] said he wanted us to stay in the league and to win him a cup," said Wright, who is confident that striker Stevie May will remain at the club despite recent interest from Queens Park Rangers.
"Hopefully, we have now ensured we will be staying in the league so the first part has been taken care of. The next stage is to win a cup."
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