A footballing injury has left the 82-year-old Dundee granny unable to hobble from her bed to the TV room in Ninewells Hospital to check on the progress of Berti’s Boys.

And doctors have warned her off any further participation in the beautiful game after she broke her hip in two places, trying to boot a stray football back to lads playing in St Mary’s.

“The doctors, when they come in to see me, keep saying ‘No more football’,” said Gina from her bedside in ward 18, wagging her finger, mocking the doctors’ teasing action.

She described the quiet Sunday afternoon stroll that left her sidelined. “My granddaughter phoned to ask if I’d like to go out for a walk,” said Gina.

“There were lads playing football and the ball came over to me. I just picked up my foot and gave the ball a kick. The next thing I saw red. I must have collapsed.”

A retired nurse, Gina remembers nothing of the incident, her trip to Ninewells in an ambulance and a lengthy operation to reset the broken bones. “The first thing I knew was waking up in pain the next afternoon.”

Still barely able to move, even with the aid of a walking frame, Gina has no idea when she will be fit to leave hospital. But she has no complaint about her treatment in Tayside’s flagship hospital.

“I have never seen such a lot of dedicated staff as there are in here,” she said. “The wee-est thing and they are coming to help you. And there’s aye cups of tea.”

She even volunteered praise for the catering staff. “The food here is wonderful.”

Originally from Whitehills in Banffshire, and still retaining the distinctive twang of a Northeast quine, Gina moved to Dundee when she was 19, transferring from a general hospital in Banff to care for people with learning difficulties. Apart from breaks to have her four children, she worked as a nurse in Dundee until she was 60.

Widowed 23 years ago, her husband William was in her thoughts as she relived her tackle with the ball.

“My man loved football. This would have amused him greatly.”