Arsenal and Scotland international full-back Kieran Tierney had admitted dislocating his shoulder “three times in 10 minutes” during the Gunners’ win at the London Stadium against West Ham United in December.
The former Celtic defender, who has capped 12 times for the Scotland senior national team, endured an injury-hit start to his career in English football having joined the Gunners from Celtic in the summer, and the left-back finally made his debut in a Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest in September.
Tierney’s debut against Nottingham Forest in September was the first of his 11 appearances for the North London club this season so far, with 11 of these appearances coming against West Ham United at the London Stadium, when the 22-year-old was forced off the pitch after dislocating his shoulder 29th minute into the game.
Speaking to SportBible’s Facebook channel via the Daily Mirror, the Arsenal left-back, who’s currently rated at €23m, has now opened up on the severity of his injury.
Tierney said:
“Mentally it was probably the toughest time of my life. In my head I was thinking, ‘I need an operation now.’ I knew,”
“I knew that devastation straight away and I think you can see it on my face.”
The Scott is now returning to full fitness ahead of schedule and hopes his first game would be in the Premier League under Arsenal’s new boss Mikel Arteta when football action returns to normal.
He added:
“I know the way the team play, how they want to play and how the manager wants to do his things.
“It’s never ideal sitting on the sideline watching but I just want the team to win and be successful.
“Everybody loves going out and playing football but to be mentally tough and to deal with all these obstacles and hurdles that people throw at you, it’s the hardest part but when you get to the other side it’s the most rewarding part.”
