Former Scotland keeper Craig Gordon claims he is finally closing in on a comeback

Gordon Waddell

16 Jun 2013 11:38

AFTER two years on the sidelines with a chronic knee injury the 30-year-old is convinced he's now winning his fitness battle and is ready to return.

THE closer Craig Gordon gets the harder it becomes.

Seeing the keeper between the sticks at Largs last week was a sight for sore eyes, feeling the grass under his studs and the smack of the ball into his gloves.

But his languid movements fielding the fodder of the B-Licence guinea pigs betrayed a frustration. Although he looks like he'd be able to reach out and touch every ball coming his way, the standard of fitness he'll set himself to be anywhere close to his best remains elusive.

Still, the 30-year-old is as optimistic as he's been in two years that his playing days could be looming again.

He dropped his biggest hint yet that he intends to be up and running next season, shunning the possibility of any surgery because it would wipe out another year he feels he just can't afford to lose.

With only one game under his belt in two seasons – and even then, played under duress – the former Scotland and Sunderland No.1 is slowly winning his battle against a patella tendon problem as rare as it is difficult to cure.

Despite his incremental gains though, the feel of his first sessions back have left him frustrated.

"Absolutely," he confessed. "You just get this feeling of wanting to do more.

"I make the odd save that's close enough to me but there are one or two when things are going in and I'm thinking 'a few years ago I'd have been across there and had that no problem'.

"It's not great to be in that frame of mind where you know you're capable of so much more but you're limited by what you can do physically.

"Hopefully over time that'll improve.

"There are a few boys I try a bit harder against, right enough, especially the pros. Kevin Thomson hasn't scored past me yet – I can't let a Hibs player score by me!

"But it's good to get involved, although obviously not at the level I'd like to be at. It's better than it's been though, better than in a long time. Probably two years.

"And hopefully over the summer I can improve it a bit more again."

Gordon's knee injury hit him in a reserve game for Sunderland against Everton as he was bouncing back from the second broken arm of his stay on Wearside.

It just went, no-one near him, and despite trawling the world for solutions, and reinventing his walk to take the load off, he's discovered that the greatest healer of all is the oldest one.

Craig Gordon Craig Gordon in action for Scotland in 2010

"Time," he shrugged. "I've chucked every treatment at it, gone down every possible route I could have gone down.

"There are a few injections left to try, which I will, over the next few months.

"I've been back to see the surgeon in Sweden. He scanned it again and agreed it's looking better.

"But another surgery isn't an option as I'd be looking at another six-to-nine months again, so basically ruling out another full season, and there's only so long you can keep doing that."

Gordon has deliberately refused to sign for any club during his rehab, preferring not to have the pressure of deadlines being set by anxious physios or managers.

He's helped out Ian Murray with a coaching shift at Dumbarton – but won't be continuing that next term.

He said: "I'm going to focus on myself, take care of my knee and look after that the best I can to see if there is any possibility I can do some work with it.

"Coaching can wait – I'm only 30, it's not as if I need to be diving into it now.

"I may look to go into a club sometime next season but only if I feel it's going to be of benefit, and only when I'm ready.

"At some point the sharpness and the quickness of movement will have to come into it – you can't do that stuff by yourself so I'll have to commit to that if I want to get back to any kind of level.

"That won't happen overnight, it will take weeks, maybe months – but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

"I've had calls to see if I'm available for next season but until I know what state I'm in I don't want to go and let anybody down, sign as one of their keepers then not be able to play for a whole season.

"That's something that wouldn't weigh very well on my conscience. I'd rather wait and make sure I could contribute.

"I don't want to let myself down by going back too early, and going back just to earn some money is something that doesn't interest me at all.

"If I manage to get back I want to play football. That's all I'd be interested in."

And if he does?

Again, it'll be baby steps – but watching his former rival Allan McGregor keep a clean sheet in Croatia earlier this month for Scotland brought more than a pang of jealousy to the surface.

He said: "I'd love to have been part of that performance. It was great and I was delighted for Scotland.

"Croatia were awful but at the same time we did everything that was asked of us, we were very professional and made some great decisions.

"Defensively we were so sound and we ran the clock down really well at the end. We never looked as if we were in great danger. It wasn't backs to the wall at all.

"I don't think Allan will have had many easier clean-sheets with the national team, which is strange over there.

"The Croats were probably guilty of underestimating us.

"And we kept the ball. Our forwards did well buying the defence time to get up."

Taken from the Daily Record