Hearts star declares fitness status after operation as he holds electric Champions League hope for Tynecastle
The Hearts defender has battled back from an operation at the end of last term.
Stuart Findlay insists he’s raring to go in the Champions League as the Hearts defender returns to fitness after an ankle operation.
The centre-back was a key player for the Jambos last season as they finished second in the Premiership. That unlocked second round qualifiers at Europe’s top table and Findlay has been racing to get fit for the matches versus Sturm Graz on July 21 and July 28 after a clean-up on his ankle. It was a procedure that had been coming and it meant he missed the early stages of life under new head coach Wouter Vrancken.
After featuring in Friday’s friendly win over Rayo Vallecano, Findlay insists he’s fully fit, and ready to play if called upon by his boss on Tuesday. He said: “I’m a little bit behind everybody else, just with the clean up of my ankle that I got over the summer. That's unfortunate timing but it's something that definitely had to be done. But I think in terms of the full squad, I've got to watch a lot of the training when I was in Spain when I wasn't able to take part.
What injury has Stuart Findlay had?
“We’re all aware it's a pretty quick turnaround from starting back to obviously a massive game which is a Champions League qualifier. But I think we showed on Friday that there's definitely aspects of the game that we've took on board and hopefully we can show everybody on Tuesday night when the real stuff starts what we're all about. I had a serious ankle injury when I was at Kilmarnock about 18 months, two years ago. I was out for about five months and I came back and played the end of the season but just the severity of the ankle I was told off the surgeon that there would be little fragments in there and a little bit of scar tissue and things that would just cause me a bit of discomfort and maybe down the line it was something I would have to get tidied up.
“The season was obviously so big last year that it wasn't the time to miss any games and I maybe played a few injections just to get myself through to the end of the club and as soon as the season finished I knew it was time to get that tidied up and obviously then it's disappointing when the new manager comes in and you're just lying on an injury bench waiting to get back fit but in the long run it will be better for me. Playing tonight my ankle feels completely back to normal and hopefully it will give me a wee fresh kick for the season coming ahead.”
Findlay was a ball boy at Celtic in his youth for European nights at Parkhead and experienced continental football with Kilmarnock. He reckons a bouncing Tynecastle will have an added edge as hopes Hearts have something to fight for in terms of progress during the second leg. Findlay added: “I remember being a ball boy at Celtic Park when you're in the youth team and you can imagine the atmosphere. Then even at Kilmarnock you get to experience European fixtures which were special occasions compared to what you're probably used to in the everyday league matches.
How will Hearts do in the Champions League?
“I'd like to think Tynecastle under the lights for a Champions League game is going to be that extra bit special. Obviously the away game is going to be great but I don't think anybody will be looking forward to anything more than getting back to Tynecastle. Hopefully we get a performance in the first leg to give us a good footing for the second leg and we come here to a bouncing Tynecastle and show Sturm Graz what Champions League football can be about.
“It's a once in a lifetime chance for a lot of people. Not many people get to play Champions League football. At the age of 30 I didn’t know if I would get the chance to play Champions League football. I know it's a qualifier but it's still got that title ahead of it so we have to make sure we grab it with both hands and make sure it's not just two games and make sure we're in the hat for the next round. We have to make sure that we're all a team of leaders and the new guys coming in quickly get up to the expectations of what we want and the quicker we do that and the quicker we can hit the ground running the better.”