Cammy Devlin praised by Australia boss after Hearts midfielder bleeds for his country

The 24-year-old was making his first ever start for the Socceroos during the international friendly in Melbourne when he received a knee to the head which required lengthy treatment.

Blood poured down his face as team medics stitched him up and wrapped a bandage around to allow him to continue playing. Devlin was eventually withdrawn in the 54th minute with Arnold later revealing that he was worried the wound could reopen with another clash.

Still, the manager was pleased with the attitude shown by Devlin, who is renowned for his work-rate and tenacity.

Cammy Devlin takes a knee to the head during the first half of Australia's 2-1 friendly defeat to Ecuador. Picture: Getty

“That’s Cammy’s energy,” said Arnold. “He had stitches at half time which I was a bit concerned about in the second half. He didn’t want to come off but I thought it would be safer.”

He added of Devlin and the other newcomers to the starting XI: “I want to see them play. Plenty of minutes and work on the physical aspect. As you saw tonight that was the standout – they won almost every second ball because they were physically stronger.”

Fellow Tynecastle team-mates Kye Rowles and Garang Kuol were second-half substitutes. Kuol came off the bench against Ecuador last week to score in a 3-1 victory.

The much-changed Aussies were beaten on this occasion despite leading 1-0 at half-time through Brandon Borrello. Pervis Estupinan and William Pacho each scored within 20 minutes of the restart to win it for the South Americans.

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