Former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has backed Craig Gordon to make a return from injury after his double leg break on Christmas Eve.
Speaking to The Record, Strachan says that he believes the veteran goalkeeper will be back on the pitch in no time despite suggestions that he may retire as a result of the injury.
“I texted Craig this morning and while I leave that between the two of us, what I would say is, when you look at his career, it’s been full of character building moments. And he’s dealt with them all brilliantly.
“That’s why he’s played on towards 40 because he’s dealt with those problems and his character has helped him to overcome them. He knows how tough these times can be and what is required for him to come back from them.
“He also knows how great a game it is. That’s why he keeps himself in such great shape – to keep playing. So I see no problem with him dealing with this injury and recovering from it. He will do that. It’s then just a matter of how long he wants to go on and that’s up to him to decide.
“But if you look at him over the last year and a half you think, ‘Is this as good as he’s ever been?’. So, in that case, why would he even think about packing it in?
“You only pack in playing football when you’re no longer an influence. That’s when you go, ‘Oops! It’s time for me to call it a day,’.
“But if you ask every Hearts supporter or every player, who has been your most influential or significant player over the last couple of years, they’ll all say the same. It’s him. So you can’t just go from being the best keeper in Scotland one day, to never playing again the next just because of a broken leg.”
Gordon made 242 appearances at Celtic, winning an incredible 14 major honours in his time in the Hoops. Gordon spent six years at Celtic but following the expiry of his deal in 2020, no agreement was reached leaving the Invincible keeper free to join any club.
Hearts swooped to sign their former £9m export, who played just six games for Celtic from the beginning of 2019 up until his departure in the summer of 2020. The leg break for the Jambos up at Tannadice was a sickener but Gordon has shown that he has resilience in abundance and will no doubt be back to see out his contract, due to expire in 2024.
Hopefully Gordon can make a return to football and that an excellent career is not ended in such a cruel fashion.
One of our best goalkeepers. I would put him in the same bracket as Charlie Shaw, John Thomson and Ronnie Simpson – and that is saying something!
It may be that this injury brings an already glorious and lengthy career to an end. Let’s hope not. But if Celtic are ever looking for a goalkeeping coach in the future, I would suggest Craig Gordon.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Craig!
Totally agree with you David. More dependable than boruc was and never seemed flustered