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@blighty
I'd get any ankle problems looked at sharpish. Then get a second opinion.
After a long misdiagnosis during which I was practically disabled it turned out I had Haglunds Syndrome.
Start the Steve Wright In The Afternoon Music.
I'd always had sore feet and back problems, so a podiatrist made custom inserts (which would have cost a mint but she was a friend of my girlfriend of the time) which were amazing, they helped my posture, back problems and sore feet went away. But you're not supposed to run in them.
Anyway, after wearing them for a year or two one day I had to run in them (long story), and a few minutes later I was in serious difficulties, a lot of pain in my ankles.
Went to St. John's & elizabeth's foot clinic, they reckoned I'd bruised my tendons on the inserts and that I just needed some physio to firm them up, no x-ray needed. I should have insisted on an x-ray.
If I did the exercises the physio gave me and kept my tendons stretched out and warm I could just about get a day's work in before the pain got too much, but every other aspect of my life suffered. I persevered with the exercises but they said it would take about 18 months. After 18 months I stopped the exercises and two days later I could barely walk.
Went to another foot surgeon (all this at private rates, NHS had a loooong waiting list), he x-rayed and said "yeah you've got Haglunds". Essentially little spurs of bone grow out of the back of your heel and dig into your Achilles tendons. It only happens to women who wear high heels too much and idiots who wear their shoe inserts for too long whether they run in them or not.
So I had an operation which despite being keyhole still necessitated having all of my Achilles tendons detached. Again at private rates. They can't be re-attached, they just have to heal. After another 18 months its not gone perfectly as the left one is still occasionally painful, but I'm much better off than before as I can now walk. Over the course of several years, this has had a knock-on effect on the rest of my legs. My knees used to visibly tremble as I walked down stairs because they were so weak and because my feet can't take repetitive hard impacts I can't run or jog, so gained weight.
About a year ago I took up cycling. My legs and ankles are much stronger generally and the weight is coming off.
So, er, there you go.