FC Edinburgh's Ryan Shanley relieved to be back on the pitch after concussion nightmare

Ryan Shanley has revealed he was ready to play on despite being knocked out cold during January's defeat to Falkirk at Meadowbank.

The young striker suffered a clash of heads with a Bairns defender three minutes into the League One clash, a match the hosts went on to lose 2-1, and had to be replaced by John Robertson.

However, panic set in around the Capital venue as Shanley lay lifeless on the Astroturf before regaining consciousness 30 seconds later. With the former Hibs frontman completely unaware of what had happened just a minute prior, Shanley was up on his feet ready to restart play.

"At the time it was scary because the next thing I remembered after it happening was wakening up to the physio," explained Shanley, who made his first start since his concussion in the 0-0 draw with leaders Dunfermline last week. "I didn't really know what was going on and I even tried to get up and play on after coming round.

FC Edinburgh's Ryan Shanley, left. Picture: Tommy Lee.

"Danny Handling had to put me in the recovery position and made sure I didn't swallow my tongue so he deserves a lot of praise. I came round after about 30 seconds but that was just the start of it really. I didn't feel great for about five weeks - I wasn't myself, I was off work. My head was really cloudy, I felt sick so it was difficult.

"I tried to come back a bit sooner but still didn't feel right. I just had to be patient until I felt better and obviously there are concussion protocols you have to go through. I felt really tired, even just going for a couple of walks took a lot out of me."

Ahead of tomorrow night's visit of Queen of the South, the 22-year-old added: "It was good getting back on the pitch and getting some minutes under my belt. I thought we played really well against Dunfermline and deserved a point at the least. We competed really well in all areas of the pitch so hopefully we can do that against Queens this time round. They've been our bogey team this season as we also lost to them in the SPFL Trust Trophy so we need to right that wrong.

"It's really tight now for the teams battling for the play-offs. We just need to focus on one game at a time. We've been there or thereabouts for the majority of the season so we need to see the job through."