Murphy glad to confound doctor’s predictions

TONIGHT’S battle with Aberdeen for third place in the Premiership and the eagerlyanticipated Scottish Cup final against St Johnstone are intoxicating occasions Jamie Murphy had resigned himself to missing out on after he was told his season was over.

However, the Hibernian forward is now eager to make the most of his second chance after proving the initial prognosis wrong to ensure he is in the thick of it for a thrilling finale to the campaign.

The on-loan Rangers winger, who will make his move east permanent this summer, has been dogged by a troublesome hamstring issue that has restricted him to just 13 league starts for the Easter Road outfit. Most recently, a flare-up in early March left him resigned to setting his sights on being fit for the start of next term rather than the end of this one.

Yet, after a visit to a specialist in London led to an impactful substitute’s appearance in Saturday’s Scottish Cup semifinal triumph over Dundee United, the 31-year-old is confident he can play his part as Hibs seek both league and cup success in the coming days.

“Considering six weeks ago I thought my season was over, to be able to come back is testament to the medical staff and fitness staff getting me back,” he said. “It was really disappointing at the time. I feel like I do everything in my life, I work hard to try and be the best I can, and it’s frustrating when you can’t even get outside on the training pitch.

“All I wanted to do was make sure we had the problem sorted from the start of next season. I didn’t want to be coming back and going through all this again – being back for a month, out for a month, then playing for a month, then out, it was driving me mad, to be honest.

“To be feeling better a couple of weeks later was a good feeling. It was probably a couple of weeks ago when I started doing my stuff in the gym and I felt alright, I wasn’t in any pain, I could move freely. And then you start thinking we have a Scottish Cup quarter final, we have a chance here, and then we get through on penalties, and you make it an aim to get back for the semifinal.”