‘Resilient Tierney has another fight on his hands’

Celtic vs. Sporting Braga in the Europa League

Glasgow’s Celtic Park Date: Thursday, October 2 Kick-off: 17:45 BST

When Braga travel to Celtic Park on Thursday for their second round of the Europa League, Kieran Tierney will play his 400th senior game.

That will include 180 games for Celtic, 144 for Arsenal, 26 for Real Sociedad, and a bang of 50 for Scotland.

There are many appearances, but he also makes many more early. At age 18, he had nearly 40 games under his belt, with close to 80 at age 19 and 140 at age 20.

At such a young age, so much football. There are other figures that, perhaps, account for Tierney’s body’s constant stress during his early years playing football, as well as the relentless grind of his early years at Celtic as the poster boy for their academy.

The Celtic ball boy made up for the injury-loss of more than 800 days since making his debut as a 17-year-old. The youngest ever captain of the club. almost 150 games were lost, with 18 injuries. Only two performances in this season’s 90-minute span since June 2024.

When did Tierney last manage to play 90 minutes of consecutive play? Some people referred to him as a future captain three and a half years ago in the season 2020/21 when things were going well in London and he was one of the key players at Arsenal.

His “boots in a Tesco bag” season was a welcome change from the posers’ designer clothing and flash cars, and it was his “season” as a cult hero among the fans. a personable player. Someone to restrain their supporters.

Many people doubt that Tierney will ever be able to return to where he was if he ever can. Since returning to Glasgow, he has appeared to have lost some of his strength, but once more, it is still early days in his quest to regain the speed and power that made him unique.

He doesn’t seem to have much of the exuberance of his former self and much of the overlapping chaos he contributes in his best moments. You would never realize that he was there in the majority of his performances, which is a good thing for a player you’ve always known was.

Of course, there have already been many doubts about him. His world does not contain any new things. If you were to refer to this most recent period of Tierney’s career as his third or fourth coming, it would not be far off. Despite how many times he has overcome hardship, it’s difficult to say how. It might be a little conservative in some ways.

Despite the emotional tug, he toils in his comeback, and the mood is that Celtic probably should have never re-signed him and that he may never be the player he once was.

Too soon to say. Even though he may have some psychological baggage that is keeping him from progressing, Tierney is still rebuilding. He is having to dig deep once more to demonstrate how mentally strong he can be with every injury he has sustained.

Sadly, he’s accustomed to it. He broke his leg in late 2014, and he was set for a Celtic debut. He later stated that he didn’t want to use it as justification for his decision to leave Celtic.

At the time, he was 17-years-old. driven and of course. He missed two months of the season at the age of 19 after torn his ankle ligaments in a freak training ground accident. He had a groin and a double hernia that left him in pieces during the 2018-19 season, which he had at age 21.

He was already recognized as one of Celtic’s greatest left-backs in history. He played 60 games in the 2017-18 season, making him one of Europe’s most popular players. a youngster who is already a colossus. He has described the subsequent season and how he was constantly in pain. That might have caused the issues that followed.

He claimed on the Open Goal podcast, which was almost shocking to listen, that “I had a hernia and fluid around the area.” He said, “I kept playing and playing.” “I was unable to get out of bed.” Despite being unable to walk, I was still trying to play.

I was constantly taking injections. Among them, two were painkillers. I had chronic pain in my groin and lower abdomen called osteitis pubis, which is a bad thing.

A team-mate, Jonny Hayes, informed him that a friend of his had to retire because of the injury. Another team-mate, Tom Rogic, called him an idiot because of his playing. Tell them you can’t play, he said, “This is bad.”

I was injected with steroid, “I was taking it.” A rumor about retirement was spreading. Am I now thinking that? Yes, it did creep in.

This was early 2019. Due to his unceasing desire to play, Celtic’s crown jewel was in jeopardy. On the title run-in, he raconted a tale of back-to-back games played against Hearts. Brendan Rodgers had just been replaced by Neil Lennon. At the time, the club was fixated on eight-in-a-row.

Tierney’s medical history provided a little bit of an endurance test for him when he joined Arsenal that summer. He dislocated his shoulder three times in the first half-hour against West Ham United after living at his new club for eleven games.

He recalled that “nobody’s shoulder shouldn’t be moving that way.” You are immediately aware of the destruction. On my face, you can see it. It was the most difficult time of my life, mentally.

Again, that phrase. At the age of 22, I had a second similar experience. He didn’t start playing until June.

Tierney was a lauded character at Arsenal for the rest of the time despite having two different knee injuries in 2021. recognized as a model and leader who shows leadership and class.

Real Madrid and Barcelona were thought to be interested, respectively. The best times in England were at this point. As carefree as he could possibly be.

His knee broke in March 2022, making it impossible for him to play the rest of the season. Another victory was necessary.

In an effort to spark something, he loaned money to Real Sociedad. He injured his hamstring against Athletic Bilbao five games in. He then pulled his hamstring against Celta Vigo, which he did again by playing 10 confident games in a row.

Tierney gathered himself once more before suffering a terrible hamstring injury during the Euros that summer against Switzerland. He said at the time, “This shall pass.” For six months, he didn’t kick a ball in rage.

He was a member of the Arsenal team, contributing, and respected, but he was also returning to Celtic in the summer after his final season there.

His most recent game was against Southampton, where he scored. slipped his marker in his pocket. Another illustration of a man repeatedly falling down but never falling out.

Although he only has 28 years, he may feel a little older than that in football. When is too many injuries combined? He has repeatedly demonstrated that he is resilient, a fighter, and that he has yet to face another battle.