IBROX CLASH WAS A PAIN FOR CADDEN
CHRIS CADDEN can’t wait for another crack at Rangers after playing on his last Ibrox trip with a broken back.
The Hibs midfielder has only returned to action this month after being told he had a four centimetre fracture at the base of his back following the 2-1 defeat to Gers in April.
Cadden suspects the injury, which was detected after he made a secondhalf substitute appearance against the champions, was a result of too much running on the pitch.
He’s ready to empty the tank again as Hibs look to end a four-year wait for a win at Ibrox and go top of the league.
Cadden said: “I had a pain in my back in March and was probably playing through it for about a month. After the last Ibrox game I was really sore and the physio said I needed a scan and to prepare for being out for a few weeks or whatever.
“The scan came back and it showed about a four centimetre crack on the bottom of my back.
“The most frustrating thing is you just need to sit and wait for it to heal.
“I’ve never heard of someone breaking their back without actually falling on it but it happened to me.
“I think it was a stress fracture. I maybe ran too much! Just the stress of that caused my back to fracture, which sounds mental saying it.
“It wasn’t that bad. I came on at Ibrox and felt okay. The adrenaline gets you through. It was after the game that I felt it sore.
“It was a frustrating period. I felt I was in a good place, I had strung a few games together and I was loving being here and playing football.
“I had to stop and missed a couple of games at Hampden. It was tough to watch but I was there supporting the boys and did anything I could to help the team.”
Cadden enjoyed mixed fortunes at Ibrox while at Motherwell, winning 2-0 in 2017 but being on the end of a 7-1 thumping a year later.
He’s never gone there knowing a win would move his side top of the table and it’s a challenge the twice-capped Scotland international is relishing.
Cadden said: “That’s a bit different from before but we know how tough a test it’s going to be.
“We just need to go there and try and get a result, play as well as we can and execute as well as we can. After that, we can deal with what comes.
“It would be amazing to go top but you can’t look too far ahead. We just have to concentrate on the game and then take the result at the end.”