Horror injury could be real setback

FORMER Hearts star Kevin James fears the horror injury he picked up at the weekend could wreck his chances of a dream return to the Premier League.

The towering defender is recovering at his Edinburgh home after requiring 19 stitches in two separate leg wounds after a tackle from Arbroath’s Graham Bayne at Gayfield on Saturday.

The centre-half was stretchered off in agony after just 32 minutes of the First Division clash and now faces a period on the sidelines at a crucial time of the season for the Diamonds as Ian McCall’s side try to keep the pressure on league leaders Partick Thistle.

"I glanced down and I could see that the bone was exposed" - James

With James hospitalised in Dundee after the sickening clash, Airdrie crashed to defeat against the Red Lichties, an apparent hammer blow to their promotion hopes.

Fortunately, though, no real damage was done with the Jags also slumping to a surprise loss away to bottom dogs Raith Rovers.

Airdrie remain six points behind John Lambie’s pacesetters and with the Firhill side having a game in hand, James knows it is now going to be a tough task to claw back such a deficit.

"I haven’t missed a game since signing from Hearts but have been told that I could be out for up to a month and that is very disappointing," he said.

"We don’t have the biggest squad at Airdrie so that is bad news at such an important time of the season for the club.

"But there is nothing I can do about it and will just have to grin and bear it and hope that I can get back a bit sooner than has been suggested."

James still winces with pain when he thinks about the challenge from Bayne which left the 26-year-old with a gaping wound almost down to the shin bone.

"I had played the ball down the line and just felt this guy clatter into me. The linesman said he didn’t think the guy had touched me. If that was the case, I’d hate to think what might have happened had he made contact!

"When the physio came on and started to have a look I glanced down and could see the bone was exposed. I’m not the most squeamish of people but that was not my cup of tea.

"Now it’s just a case of waiting until I get the stitches out next week and taking things from there."

However, James knows from the experience of a former Tynecastle pal that he can’t push himself too hard in his recovery.

"I remember Kenny Milne at Hearts had a bad gash in his knee after a derby at Tynecastle over a year ago but he came back too soon and the wound opened up again.

"I don’t want to do that and will try to make sure I’m okay when I return. Having both legs out of action is a bit of a pain but I’ll get over this and hopefully fight my back into the team."

As small as McCall’s squad is, James is aware he could face a struggle to regain his place if his replacement does well.

He said: "If whoever comes in and does really well then I suppose it could be tough to win my jersey back.

"Only time will tell but I don’t want to miss many games as I’m desperate to try to help Airdrie into the SPL.

"That would be a magnificent achievement after everything the club has been through. But we have been struggling lately with a series of niggling injuries which has caught up on a few of the lads.

"We’ll just have to keep our heads down and keep battling away and hope to keep getting the right results."

The self-confessed Jambos still keeps in touch with a number of his Hearts pals and would love to line up against them in the top flight next season.

He was brought to Tynecastle by former boss Jim Jefferies but never made the impression expected in Gorgie and when Craig Levein took over the hot seat his career in the Capital soon came to an end.

"It was just one of those experiences in football," he said.

"I don’t have any regrets about my time there and have no grudges against anyone.

"I wish the club all the best for the rest of the campaign and hope they finish in the top six. Although with the way things are shaping up, it is going to be a very tight race before the split with so many teams near each other in the middle of the table.

"It would be great to achieve SPL status for Airdrie as it would hopefully mean a lot of our futures being sorted out for next season so it is up to us to give it our best shot. We still have Partick to play and I’m sure there could be a few more twists and turns before the end of the campaign."

James keeps a close watch on Hearts whenever he can and was therefore delighted to see young winger Paul McMullan make his Hearts debut in Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, the defender having been impressed by the wide man’s pace during his time at Tynecastle.

"I played against Paul in some bounce games and there is no doubt he has got some speed," he said.

"It was good to see him make his debut and it’s nice to see the promising youngsters at the club still getting a chance to show what they can do in the first team."

Taken from the Scotsman