Tierney wants Scottish Cup glory before going under the knife
● Left back unsure if he can last 90 minutes of final ● Will have double hernia op next week
Kieran Tierney has admitted he is uncertain whether he will be able to complete a full 90 minutes at Hampden on Saturday as he bids to sign off his season with another winners’ medal before undergoing surgery for a double hernia next week.
The Celtic left-back has described his injury woes in recent weeks as “absolute agony” and has confirmed he will miss Scotland’s Euro 2020 qualifiers against Cyprus and Belgium next month.
Tierney has trained with the rest of the Celtic squad over the last two days and hopes to be able to line up against Hearts in the Scottish Cup final as the champions look to wrap up a third consecutive domestic treble.
“The plan is to play 90 minutes and I’m hoping I can get through it,” said the 21-yearold, who last completed a full match for Celtic in these mifinal against Aberdeen last month.
“But I won’t know until I’m in the game, and I’ve played however long, whether that will be possible. But the plan is to play. I’ve trained the last few days, so hopefully I should be fine.
“How do I feel? I feel like I have a double hernia! It’s been absolute agony. But I know what I’ ve got now, I know there’s not much I can do until I get my op.
“It’ s just about guiding through it until then. I’ m booked in for surgery a few days after the final. It will be good to get it resolved.”
Tierney’ s target will be a return in time for Celtic’s opening Champions League qualifier next season on 9 or 10 July, although the timetable for recovery is variable.
“Everybody’ s different in terms of coming back from this kind of operation ,” he added.
“But the good thing is it shouldn’t be too long. So maybe, the surgeon’s said, it’s three or four weeks and you’re fully training and ready for games. Some people are quicker, some are long. I’d say maybe between three and six weeks.
“I’m disappointed to be missing the Scotland games next month, as you want to impress the new manager. Steve Clarke knows about me but I’ll still be gutted to miss these games.
“You want to put your stamp on his mind now that he’ s starting out with Scotland. What he did forKil marno ck was incredible and all of the positivity surrounding him can only be good for the national team.”
“How do I feel? I feel like I have a double hernia! It’s been absolute agony. But I know what I’ve got now”
Since breaking into the Celtic first team shor tly before his 18th birthday four years ago, Kieran Tierney has scarcely looked back.
S u d d e n l y, h o w e v e r, t h e r e l e n t l e s s s u c c e s s h e h a s e n j o y e d w i t h t h e S c o t t i s h champions looks to have taken its toll.
The obvious conclusion to reach as Tierney prepares to undergo surger y fo r a double hernia next week is that his 170 games for Celtic – not to mention 12 for S cotland – is the cause of the wear and tear which has caused him so much discomfort in recent weeks.
T h e t a l e n t e d l e f t - b a c k , though, isn’t so sure. Tierney, who has only completed one full 90 minutes for Celtic in the last six weeks, believes the standard of some of the pitches he has played on over the last four seasons could be the root of his problem.
“M ay b e i t ’s t h e d i f f e r e n t surfaces,” said Tierney who e n co u n te r s t h e much c r i t i - cised ar tificial pitches with both Celtic and Scotland.
“Mos t p e o p l e wi l l s ay I ’ve played too many games. But there are lots of people who haven’t played 170 games who have also ended up with double hernias.
“So you can’t just blame it on a lot of games. Maybe it’s a factor. But all of the games I’ve played up until this, I’ve felt great. I’ve not been struggling w i t h i n j u r y. B u t o b v i o u s l y since this, it’s been a bit sore.”
Tierney lasted just 56 minutes of his last appearance for Celtic when they clinched an eighth consecutive league title with victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie on 4 May.
He insists his personal desire to add to the nine major winners’ medals he has already collected with Celtic will never cloud his judgment on whether he is able to perform at his best for the club.
“All day long, I’ll be honest with everyone about my fitness ,” added Tierney. “It’s why I didn’t play in the Rangers game a couple of weeks ago. It was the same scenario.
“A couple of weeks rest doesn’t help the double hernia, but it helps you. Training for a good week going into the game gives me the best possible chance of being as ready for the cup final as I can be.
“There’ s pretty much pain all the time with this. It’s sore when I wake up, sore when I’m moving about. People say it gets a bit better once you’ve warmed up but I’ve yet to feel that way.
“Sleep in g’ s been fine. I’ ve heard stories that at night it can be difficult. Twisting and turning can be a bit sore. But I’ve never had problems like that. I’m OK sleeping, although it’s pain again when you get up.
“I was told a few weeks ago, after the cup semi-final against Aberdeen, that I would need surgery.
“I put forward whether it would be best to get the operation immediately. But they weren’t sure if it was possible to get the surgery so soon. So I was booked in for after the season. Since then I’ve just tried my best to train and play when I can.
“It is what it is, I now know what it is and I know how to deal with it and cope with it. I’ve trained the last few days, they’ve been full sessions and they’ve been hard sessions. That gives me confidence going into the game that I’ve done the two hardest sessions of the week.
“I push myself for every single game, I want to play every game. This is another massive game. But the team comes first — if I’m not available, I’m not available.
“I’ ll still be 100 percent behind the team. I’d be gutted to miss out but all that matters to me is that Celtic win, whether I’m playing or not.
“I’ m really grateful to be where I am and I don’t take any thing for granted at this club. You always want to achieve the most you can in football and winning trophies here is what I’ve always wanted to do. While I’m doing that, then I’m happy.
“That feeling hasn’ t gone away. It isn’t any less because I’ve done it before. Ever y tro - phy feels better than the last one. If you work hard all season for a trophy and get one then it feels so sweet and I want to do that again next season.
“It would be great if we did another treble on Saturday but it’s a case of ‘if ’ we win it. We need to concentrate on that. If it all goes well then we can talk about that after it.
“It’s crazy to be going for a treble treble. No team has been in a position where they’ve done a double treble and now we’ve won two trophies this season with the chance to win one more. It is crazy and some - thing we’ ll probably never have the chance to do again.”
“This is another massive game. But the team comes first – if I’m not available, I’m not available. I’ll still be 100 per cent behind the team. I’d be gutted to miss out but all that matters to me is Celtic win”
KIERAN TIERNEY