MURRAY Davidson promised himself he wouldn't cut his hair until he returned to first team action.

And at long last the St Johnstone midfielder has put his hairdresser on stand-by.

The Scotland cap underwent knee surgery in January after collapsing against Hearts. And there have been no short cuts on the player's way back to full fitness.

He said: "I honestly don't know when I'll get my hair cut. I first said I wouldn't get it cut until I got myself fit again, but that didn't happen.

"I've been playing under-20 games and I had to get the physio to cut my fringe at half-time in one of them because it was in my eyes. The gaffer's not letting me wear a head-band so it's all over the place.

"Gareth Bale doesn't seem to have these problems. But when you're at Real Madrid you can do what you want, I suppose. I was on the bench on Saturday against Dundee so maybe I should count that as me back now. I'm ready for selection so maybe I should be getting it cut.

"The first goal was to get back walking, then it was leg raises, squats, jogging. It's been step by step and that was another on Saturday. I feel I'm ready to start now."

While Davidson - who scored in a 2-1 reserves defeat against Hamilton Academical last night - is pushing for a return, his heart goes out to Perth pals Steven MacLean and Tam Scobbie, who have both been struck down by injuries. "There's nothing worse," he said. "You knew with Macca when he put his hand up in training it would be something serious.

"Scobbs got a tackle and he's the same. If he stays down there's something wrong. You could tell it would be his medial because the knee opened up.

"Me and Scobbs did rehab in the summer so I feel for him. I know how hard I've worked to get back, so for these boys to get back from long-term injuries and have to go through it again will be tough.Hopefully for Macca, though, it will just be three or four weeks.

"For me the last month to six weeks has been the hardest because I feel like I'm there. I played my first 45 back in second gear, and the knee felt good. I was sort of protecting it. The next match was against Aberdeen. They had a good squad with boys like Barry Robson, and I upped it against them. Then Falkirk last week was the best I felt.

"The manager has said he noticed a difference in that one, and in training since, and he's probably right. In all the games the knee has felt really good but a lot of it is about having the confidence in it.

"Tackling's fine. That's not the worry. It's the springing off the leg, which was how I did it. It's been hard to get the mix between my full training and the gym work. I think we've got that right in the last couple of weeks and I feel a lot better in my mind about it now."