SHINNIE WINNING HIS TOUGHEST BATTLE YET
Aberdeen enforcer is going from strength to strength after a serious health scare
THERE’S nothing about Graeme Shinnie’s game that hints at the underlying, and once career-threatening, health condition.
The energy expended in relentlessly covering every inch of turf makes a mockery of the month he spent in hospital recovering from a seven-hour operation.
Each crunching tackle is an affront to the surgery that saw part of his bowel removed to halt the Crohn’s Disease which cast a malevolent shadow over his football prospects.
Shinnie still makes regular visits to specialists at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness where he was treated in 2011 but there are no caveats to his training schedule.
Watching his all-action and matchwinning performance against Apollon Limassol in midweek, there’s an argument to be made that he is not only Aberdeen’s most important player but the fittest, too.
‘It’s always there and something he has to be very aware of,’ says manager Derek McInnes of his captain’s condition. ‘He’s constantly back and forward to Inverness to see the specialist and make sure everything is the way it should be.
‘As a manager, it’s not something I have to consider because he’s one of the players who wants to train a bit more. If anything I have to put the reins on him a bit.
‘He makes sure his diet is right — he’s diligent in managing it because it’s like a time bomb for him. It’s part of the reason for the way he is because it did threaten to stop him playing. When you have that threat of not being able to play football, that your career could be taken away from you, it makes you appreciate what you’ve got.
‘He couldn’t give any more to his career, he sacrifices everything and is getting his reward for that.’
Chron’s is an inflammatory disorder that affects the digestive system and is similar to ulcerative colitis, the condition that almost ended the career of Scotland midfielder Darren Fletcher.
‘Right now Graeme is only halfway through his career, the best is still ahead of him,’ added McInnes. ‘Crohn’s disease won’t stop him, that’s for sure. He is a determined character and is someone that I think will only get better and better in the years ahead.’
Shinnie, who turns 26 on Friday, has now spent two years with Aberdeen but had proved his leadership credentials before he moved to the north east.
Having signed a precontract agreement with his hometown club in January 2015, Shinnie remained a driving force for Inverness and his final act as Caley Thistle skipper was to hoist the Scottish Cup above his head. Few would argue he has improved under McInnes and, although recruited as a left-back, an Aberdeen midfield without his energy is unthinkable. Many are mystified at the fact national coach Gordon Strachan has remained unmoved by his performances but, if he continues to excel on the European stage, he will be impossible to ignore. The early booking garnered for hitting Apollon schemer Alex da Silva set the tone for a gutsy display at Pittodrie on Thursday and it was Shinnie who was to settle an exacting Europa League first leg as he drew back his left foot and sent a swerving shot into the net from distance.
Just as in the Bosnian town of Siroki in the previous round, the Dons will have to cope with intense heat in Cyprus, but the danger in the second leg has been diluted a little by the fact Apollon have been forced to switch the match from their home stadium to Larnaca.
Shinnie will again be instructed to lead by example. ‘I thought Graeme was the heartbeat of the team in the second half in Bosnia and on Thursday his job was to deal with Limassol’s Brazilian player, Alex,’ noted McInnes.
‘I think it said everything that Alex got subbed because he wasn’t enjoying the game. Graeme does that side of the game very well but it still doesn’t stop him breaking forward, tidying up situations and then, as we saw, scoring goals.
‘For me he’s improving all the time. You have to remember he was a full-back before he came here, but he played one game against us in midfield and that was part of the attraction of signing him.
‘The quality of his goal was superb on Thursday, he does that in training from time to time. If he’s going to play in that central-midfield role then he’s keen to get more goals.
‘He plays the game exactly how supporters want to see players play. He’s a fantastic boy but he’s in good company in our dressing room.’
A 20,000-plus Pittodrie crowd responded to Shinnie’s strike by declaring him ‘one of our own’, a chant reserved for those players who forge a natural connection with the support.
His predecessor as captain, Ryan Jack, was also a local lad but never quite inspired the same love from the stands. His summer decision to leave under freedom of contract and sign for Rangers ensured that he will not be warmly welcomed back. Jack’s departure has created more room for Shinnie to shine in the middle of the pitch but McInnes insists he would rather have retained both for the new season.
‘I wanted to keep Jacko but it was his decision to go,’ he continued. ‘I would rather have kept him to play alongside Graeme because for me they are totally different players.
‘They had been part of a strong middle three last season but they play the game in a different manner. When Shinnie produces a moment of quality like he did on Thursday, he brings a bit of everything.
‘He snaps into tackles, he can beat guys of 6ft-plus in the air and he can score goals. He takes on information well and is someone his team-mates look up to.’
Jack brought a silent steeliness to the captaincy but his unfussy performances meant he rarely stood out. Shinnie’s force of
Shinnie plays the game exactly how the fans want. For me, he’s improving all the time