EVERYONE at Celtic was hurting in the aftermath of their Champions League qualifying defeat to Cluj back in August, but no one more so than Scott Bain.
The goalkeeper suffered a dislocated thumb during the second half of the loss at Celtic Park, but managed to play on to the bitter end before realising the full severity of his injury.
“I made a save and my thumb hit the ground so I popped it back in – I could feel it in my glove that it was facing the other way,” Bain said.
“We were all disappointed at the end and my thumb wasn’t too bad, but the next morning it was really sore. It was weird that I didn’t feel it at the time but that was probably down to the adrenaline flowing and I think that popping it back in straight away probably helped.
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“ I could feel it swelling in my glove as the play went on but at least I didn’t need to have it cut off. It’s taken longer than expected to recover from it, though.”
Bain’s pain at being subsequently usurped in the starting line-up was exacerbated by the arrival of Fraser Forster as the number one keeper, but after sealing a contract extension during the week, he is prepared to be patient for his chance to shine.
“It’s always great when you have a player of Fraser’s calibre coming to the club,” he said.
“Between him and Craigy (Gordon), it really shows what you need to do to be a top keeper. It’s brilliant to pull on those guys’ experience...those old guys!
“It’s just a case of me being patient. It can be frustrating not playing but it’s a great dressing-room and a great place to work.
“For me, it’s just a case of working hard, but everything at this club is geared towards the same direction.
“We all want to keep being as successful as possible and if that means me pushing other players, then so be it for now.”
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