Scott: I have a real weakness in my hamstrings
I have a real weakness.. My hamstrings keep breaking down every 10 or 15 games and I can’t keep doing same thing, I have to be stronger
SCOTT McKENNA has revealed he’s had to revolutionise his training regime for fear his hamstrings will eventually be torn to shreds.
The Aberdeen centre-back hopes a special programme will end his injury hell and help him again tear it up for club and country.
McKenna had been tipped for big things but hamstring problems during the last two seasons have seen his patience snap.
That is why he has been put on a special preventative plan to try to avoid any future frustration.
The 23-year-old said: “I want to stay fit and be more robust. I can’t keep breaking down every 10-15 games with my hamstrings.
“I have a real weakness. I’ve torn my left hamstring two or three times because the last time it happened it had two tears in it.
“I’ve also torn the right one so there is a weakness there and I need to stay on top of things maybe more than the other lads.
“When boys are in the gym I maybe need to look at working on my hamstrings to make sure they’re feeling good.
“I’ve sat down with the physios, sport scientists and the medical team to put a plan together so I can get into the gym to keep up my strength work.
“Even if we have two or three games a week I need to find ways to get into the gym at the right time to do the right exercises because I can’t keep doing what I was doing. I kept breaking down.
“We need to find that balance. If I’m not getting enough out of training I might need to do some more high-speed work just to keep on top of things.
“That’s why we’ve sat down and put this plan together that will hopefully keep me fit.
“I just want to be fit and play as many games as I can.”
McKenna tore his hamstring in two places at St Mirren in February, ending his season prematurely.
But that was on the back of having similar problems in both legs during the last two campaigns.
He said: “There’s nothing more frustrating than the injuries.
“Everything else you can deal with. But when it comes to a Saturday and you’re having to watch games, there is nothing worse. That’s when you are at your lowest. I’ve spent too much time in the stands.
“If last season had finished I would have spent four-and-a-half months injured out of the year. That is way too much time. I also missed 10 or 11 games the season before through injuries and suspension.
“I have missed too many games and I need to be on the pitch far more this season.
“I did worry about my hamstring but I’ve played three or four 90 minutes now and I’m starting to get the confidence back.
“I will also get that fitness and sharpness as the weeks go on and I can get my performance levels back up.”
McKenna knows he has been lucky in one respect.
If it hadn’t been for the shutdown he would have missed a lot more football, including Aberdeen’s upcoming Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic as well as Scotland’s Euro play-off with Israel.
The imposing centre-half said: “There’s no denying that I’ve been fortunate with the timing.
“I was expected to miss something like 15 games, including the Scotland games. But now I have a chance for the Scottish Cup semi-final and for Scotland, although I know I’ll need to play well to give myself a chance.
“Now I have the chance I need to get myself in Steve Clarke’s thoughts and that will only happen by playing well for Aberdeen.”
McKenna also reserved praise for Pittodrie’s head of medicine and sport science, Adam Stokes, for going beyond the call of duty to keep his rehab going throughout lockdown.
He said: “I was back in Cormack Park six or seven weeks before the rest of the lads just to do my rehab.
“That was a big help. I stay in a small flat and it was difficult to get equipment in.
“I had bands tied down railings and different things just to get my exercises done.
“Adam was also using me as the one person he could see a day. We were in the public park at Westhill doing running and rehab.
“I have to thank him for taking the time because it would’ve been easy for him to say, ‘I don’t feel comfortable coming out’. Or he could have used that time to see a member of his family. But he used it for me.
“I was speaking to my friends and team-mates on FaceTime and they were keeping my spirits up.
“I had that purpose to get out to work, to get fit and to make my body stronger.”