IN the grand scheme of things, with the suffering inflicted on so many by the coronavirus, it was a minor annoyance. Even on a personal level, having spent the last few months fighting back from knee surgery that threatened to end his season, it paled by comparison.

Still, being cooped up with only his parents for company probably wasn’t how Ryan Porteous had pictured his 21st birthday celebrations. The Hibernian defender will make up for that in good time, just as he is determined to make up for lost time on the pitch when normality and of course, football, gets going once again. Whenever that may be.

“It was not the way I wanted to celebrate my 21st birthday - trapped in the house with my mum and dad,” Porteous said. “Some 21st, that! I just sat in the house with mum and dad and watched some tv. That was about it. It is probably as dull as a 21st gets and I will have to make up for it when it all gets back to normal.

“I never really bothered getting much planned, because we all had an inkling that we might not be wanting big gatherings. But I would have gone for a meal. Anything but staying in the house watching TV.

“For me, as soon as I got the injury and I was told that it might end my season, I have been working hard and when I found out that I could be back before the split and potentially have a game at Hampden against Hearts, that is what I was working towards and striving towards. So, for that all to be taken away, it is a bit frustrating.

“But if we are going to play the season out, I would welcome it because I worked hard to make sure it wasn’t a season ending injury and we still have a lot to play for.

“If we finish in the top six then there are games against Celtic and Rangers and Aberdeen to look forward to, European football is not too far away if we can get a good few results and the Scottish Cup is within our grasp, so there is no reason why we can’t still go and make this a really good season.”

Porteous would prefer it if the current season is played to a conclusion, but he is focusing more on getting himself back into peak condition than getting too exercised about the question of whether or not the campaign should be declared null and void.

He said: “I think whoever you are, if you are not playing then it is going to set you back a little bit. "Maybe this has been a blessing for me because I will be back fully fit by the time everyone else is back, whether that is in the near future or later in the summer, so if we do play out the rest of the season then I might potentially get even more games than I thought I would when I was doing my rehab and trying to make sure I was back before the end of the season.

"If the season is over then at least I know I will be back 100% fit when we do start back.

“There is nothing the SFA or SPFL anyone can do about this, it is one of those things, and we just have to see what happens and if the season is void then the season’s void and we have to accept that. And if they decide to finish the season now, as it is then, then we have to accept that as well because there isn’t anything they can do about the coronavirus, and we have still played 30 games.”

As well as the motivation of getting back into action for his club has been the thought of once again pulling on the dark blue of his country at under-21 level.

"I have thought about that a lot and it has been a bit of a carrot for me," he said.