Fulham winger Simon Davies feared the foot injury he sustained earlier in the campaign was going to stop him playing a leading role in Fulham's Europa League fairytale.
The Cottagers midfielder missed five months of the season with a painful foot injury which required two operations and left the 30-year-old with a couple of screws in his left foot.
Davies admits he believed the problem would put paid to his hopes of helping Fulham's European adventure but praised the Craven Cottage medical team for getting him into shape and allowing him to star in his side's heroics.
"I didn't think I would be playing any part in the season at all to be honest," the Welsh winger, who scored a stunning equaliser in the semi-final success over Hamburg, told The Daily Star.
"At one point I totally feared my season would be wiped out. I was really struggling.
"Even coming back in February I thought maybe I could get a few games at the end of the season, but the season has been bigger and bigger so it's just been amazing - these last six weeks the physio has been brilliant."
Fulham's route to the final has included the scalps of Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus and Wolfsburg with the triumph over the Old Lady coming with an emphatic 4-1 win at Craven Cottage.
But Davies insists manager Roy Hodgson makes sure the Cottagers are not a gung-ho side contrary to results in this year's competition.
"People say teams reflect their manager and obviously we've had a lot of attention recently and everyone thinks Fulham must be this great team, really attacking.
"But we're not. We're really hard working, a well-organised team. We keep our shape, we are a frustrating team to play against and we are good on the break."
"That's the way we have been. We are solid."