ANDY Graham has told of his relief as he finally gets back on the road to recovery after months of suffering from a rare spinal disease. 

The Wasps skipper has been sidelined since December and endured weeks of uncertainty as medics tried to determine the mysterious cause of his pain. 

It looked like there was light a
t the end of the tunnel when he headed in for surgery for a slipped disk earlier this month, only for doctors to whip him off at the last second as it emerged the 36-year-old was actually suffering from discitis.

READ MORE: Neil Parry backs Andy Graham to return after escaping own injury Hell

A rare inflammation on the spine which is believed to affect only 1 in every 100,000 people, the fans’ favourite admits he is lucky to be on the mend now after having a procedure on Wednesday. 

“I have something called discitis, which is pretty rare and something not a lot of people get,” he told Advertiser Sport from hospital. “There is a high mortality rate and it is very hard to catch it.

“I am very lucky they didn’t open me up because potentially I wouldn’t be here. So, I am lucky they did catch it when they did.

“I got through the procedure and now I am starting eight weeks of antibiotics every single day and have to go to hospital every day.

“It means that at the end of this I won’t need the operation because the infection has been eating the disk away completely. They are hopeful I won’t need an op now which is amazing. 

“If you had offered me that before I would have taken it because the operation is something you really want to avoid. 

“Once it kicks in it will begin to get better and better and it then just becomes a case of getting myself fit rather than doing a full rehab.”

Graham admits the illness has certainly taken its toll on his body as he revealed he has lost 12kg in just four months. 

Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser: Graham says the support from everyone at Alloa, including close pal Scott Taggart, has helped him through the difficult time Graham says the support from everyone at Alloa, including close pal Scott Taggart, has helped him through the difficult time

But, he is confident he will be back sooner rather than later and insists the support of everyone at Alloa - even in these uncertain times - has been nothing short of phenomenal. 

“They think in around five or six weeks time the pain will suddenly go and I will feel human again,” he continued. 

READ MORE: 'Boys are worried...but we are all in this together', says Andy Graham

“The squad always is a big support and especially the boys you travel with. I’ve been keeping in close contact with the likes of Taggs [Scott Taggart], Trouts [Alan Trouten], and Stevie Hetherington. They are always there for me and have been a brilliant help during all of this.

“They’ve been picking me up and taking me to games because I refused to miss any; I was actually quite happy now they are all off as it means I don’t need to drag myself across the country.

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“But, the boys in general have just been really great. You know what it’s like, we’re in the group chat and it’s nice just to have some humour about it.

“Everyone else is dead serious but you can go to them for a bit of a laugh and a bit of banter and that’s a nice escape from the seriousness of it all.

“You send in something and they are just happy to take the p**s.”