Rio Ferdinand has admitted that he hid the extent of his back injury from manager Sir Alex Ferguson as he was so desperate to keep playing.
The England captain has missed huge chunks of the season with an injury that left him 'bent over like an old hunchback,' and says that he only decided to come clean after being exposed by Fernando Torres in the 2-0 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield in October.
Ferdinand told the News of the World: "The day after a game I would waddle into the club like a duck, bent over like an old hunchback.
"I would be hobbling around, unable to train for four or five days. I would be OK to play the next game, but I must have missed 60-70% of training.
"If I'm honest, I didn't make it clear to the gaffer and the club physios that my injury was that serious.
"I just had an incredible desire to play football and had never had to deal with an injury of this scale before.
"But I was summoned into the manager's office after the Liverpool defeat.
"He told me: 'Last season, Torres would not have scored that goal against you'. As soon as he said that, you sit up and take notice.
"When the manager tells you something like that it hits home. So we made a decision to rest it completely before I could return to the team."
The 31-year-old says his condition, while still not perfect, has improved significantly.
"I'm training at full pelt now," he added.
"Now I just need a run of games to get match-fit.
"I'm still using the cushion, it helps my posture. I look daft when I'm sat on it in a restaurant - it makes me look really tall. But it has certainly helped."