A catalogue of problems, headed by a serious back injury and a bout of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, left Smith facing the possibility of seeing a promising start go to waste after only four years in the sport.

However, the Strath athlete is now looking forward to getting back in a bob after declaring himself fighting-fit as the new winter season gets under way.

His full recovery comes despite having to endure nine months on the sidelines after damaging his back in a freak training accident attempting to weightlift 150kg in July, 2005.

While recuperating, the 28-year-old also suffered the further blow of being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which left him with a further battle to overcome.

At his peak, the bobsleigher had to stop training, lost a stone in weight, and saw his strength desert him.

But since getting the all-clear from the condition earlier this year, the dedicated athlete has spent the summer months camped at the Olympic Institute in London beginning the long road back to recovery.

Smith told the "Strathy" this week that he now had his sights set on beginning 2007 with a bang by returning to competitive action at the end of January.

"I'm glad to say that I'm now in good shape and I'm feeling stronger and fitter with every training session that goes by," he said.

"I'm back working with my conditioning coach, Clive Brewer, and he said recently that the weightlifting he's seen from me is the best I've been doing for the last few years.

"I hoping that I'll be able to clean and jerk 140kg again within the next month or two.

"During my time out I dropped from 17st to 16st and lost all my strength in my muscles, but now I've put the weight back on and everyday I am getting that little bit more power back.

"I'm getting stronger and I'm certainly fit enough to train, but it's getting to that next level when I'm fit enough to compete again – that's the challenge right now.

"Hopefully I will be back in competition in January or February by getting involved in a couple of Europa Cup races with the GB 3 lads and then I can build from there."

Reflecting on his recovery, Smith said his first hurdle had been to get over the mental scars left behind from his nightmare year.

His time on the sidelines ruined his chances of appearing in February's Winter Olympics in Turin and instead Smith had to watch the action unfold at home in Aviemore.

Nevertheless, the athlete said he had used the disappointment of missing out on what would have been his first Olympics to spur him on back to health.

A talk with friend and four-times world sprint canoeing champion Anna Hemmings also helped Smith overcome his demons and begin training again.

"Having the motivation to get back to full strength was a big challenge for me, but Anna had Chronic Fatigue for three years and has come back and had so much success," he said.

"She represented Britain at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but was diagnosed with the condition, and soon after didn't have the strength to wash her hair.

"Since coming back though, she has become a four-times world champion in sprint canoeing.

"Speaking to her really gave me a boost as it was nice to know that I was not on my own (suffering with chronic fatigue)."

Hemmings also suggested Smith went for Reverse Therapy to identify the problems that caused the chronic fatigue.

He said: "It was a combination of psychological and physiological treatment and enabled me to get a good balance in my life so that I was not doing too many good or bad things to my body.

"It worked really well and after that I had to tell myself I was over the condition and started training again."

Over the summer, some of the UKs finest sports professionals put Smith's body through its paces.

A chiropractor from English Premier League champions Chelsea FC was also drafted in to finally fix his back, and a trapped nerve was soon identified at the culprit.

"He did a lot of work on my back and I was handed a programme to help with my recovery." said Smith, who stands at 6ft 7ins.

"The staff at the Olympic Institute also did all sorts of tests on me. For one I was strapped to a machine and covered in electrodes so they could see how my muscles worked when I ran or lifted weights – we did this for five hours a day.

"I was there all summer training and I worked with a psychologist who helped the England Rugby Union squad during their 2003 World Cup campaign to get my confidence back.

"I then had the physios and doctors pushing me beyond my limits to see if the pain I felt was due to the injuries or just normal pain felt after a workout.

"I basically went through the pain barrier, but it was all worth it as I'm now back to fitness and can finally look forward to the future."

A positive Smith said he would continue to split his training between Edinburgh and the Strath – where he uses facilities at Glenmore Lodge and Macdonald Aviemore Highland Resort – to stay on course for a return to competitive action in the New Year.

He said: "I'm now not too far off where I was before the injuries and it is just so great to be back training. I'm getting closer to the standards of the rest of the GB team every day and I'm really enjoying myself at the moment.

"Just to be back involved with the GB setup has made all the effort and work worth it and I'm now hoping to bring a bobsleigh up from London to Glenmore Lodge in the next few weeks so I can practice my pushing.

"It'd be great to get a chance in the Europa Cup events in January and February and then to compete in the British Champs in Austria at the end of the season.

"After that I'm hoping to stay fit and healthy this year so I can have a chance of getting in the team for the European championships and World Cup events in 2008.

"If all goes well, I'd then like to think I could go to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics in 2010."

The athlete also predicted happier times for British bobsleighers as a whole over the next few years.

"There's 30 of us in the squad and we now have a very good programme in place.

"We have had a big boost in funding recently too, so we're hoping we will start producing over the next few years."