WALES OF PAIN BUT CHRISTIAN HAS CAP HOPE
CHRISTIAN DOIDGE insists the devastating blow of missing out on a possible Wales debut will keep him motivated during his rehabilitation.
The striker has been ruled out until December with an Achilles tendon problem picked up during training in Croatia for Hibs’ Europa Conference League clash with Rijeka.
It has not only sidelined him for Jack Ross’ side but wrecked a potential call-up for next Wednesday’s friendly against Finland plus World Cup qualifiers with Belarus and Estonia.
The 28-year-old had netted twice in five games since recovering from coronavirus this summer and also finished last season strongly with seven goals in his final 11 outings.
He said: “There were definitely discussions that this time round I was going to potentially be called up to the Wales squad.
“That would obviously have been great.
“But it’s something to keep me motivated while I’m doing my rehab, to push to get close again.
“Being in a team full of internationals, it’s great when they come back from international duty.
“It’s just question time – you’re asking them how it was and it’s great.
“It’s credit to the club, the number of internationalists we’ve got now, and I feel like there could be a few more potentially very soon.
“I’ve started my rehab now and I’ve got to wear a boot for six weeks, which is going to be kind of annoying.
“But I know it’s to help my recovery, so I’ve got to stay strong and keep it on. I’m in a good place. It’s just one of those things, you’ve got to crack on.
“It’s my first long-term injury as a professional, so I’ve probably been lucky not to get one before.
“I’ve just got to take it in my stride and concentrate on making myself better.”
Doidge was expected to be out for the rest of the year with the injury but is targeting a comeback sooner than that.
He added: “I think we worked it out that it will be the start of December, so fingers crossed everything goes to plan and hopefully I’ll be back out there then.
“I’m not sure Nathan Ring [Hibs’ head of football science and medicine] will like the sound of that in the medical team because they’re going to want to be cautious.
“But I’m going to work very hard to try to get back as soon as possible and hopefully the time flies by.”