McCarthy on Coleman’s mind

SEAMUS COLEMAN and Martin O’Neill have extended their best wishes to James McCarthy after he underwent surgery on his broken leg.

Coleman is at the end of a long road to recovery following ten months on the sidelines, but his good pal McCarthy is about to go through that process.

“There wasn’t anything that came flooding back to me, or flashbacks, I was just devastated for my best friend in football,” said Coleman, who was in the stands when the Glaswegian broke his tibia and fibula last Saturday.

“It is a big shock for him and a big shock for his family. It is probably going to give me the motivation to be as good as I can possibly be to show James that there is a way back from it,” said Coleman, who spoke after playing 58 minutes for Everton’s U-23 side on Monday.

He said afterwards that it was good to feel like a footballer again and the landmark was hailed by O’Neill yesterday. “We missed him,” said the Irish boss. “It’s great to see him back again and hopefully he can steer clear of injury.”

The 65-year-old has sent his best wishes to McCarthy who posted a message on Instagram yesterday to report that his operation went well and thank fans for their support.

“He’s had a really tough time,” said O’Neill. “He’s had a lot of injuries, his hamstring, and then it looks as if he was back in the fold and it looked like Sam Allardyce was going to play him which was great news and then suddenly he picks up this horrific injury.

“That is a major blow to him and a big blow to us.”