Damien Duff admits he broke down in tears after being told he was the first footballer to suffer the injury which might have ended his career.

The 28-year-old is back in training after recovering from a dislocation in his foot suffered at Portsmouth in April.

But the Republic of Ireland international has revealed his shock when his surgeon told him what had happened.

"It was devastating," he said.  "You should have seen me when I first found out in the surgeon's office, I broke down in tears.

"It was a dislocation in the middle of my foot, and the surgeon said he had never seen it on a footballer before, and that was a shock.

"It was an horrendous injury. I was the only footballer to ever get it.

"It's a case of taking things one day at a time because I have had my foot up all summer.  We will be looking at a couple of reserve games first, but hopefully it will not be too long before I am back."