How former Hibs star was left saying 'that's me done' after Easter Road return ended with career-ending worry
The former Hibs defender hit a career low point in a clash at Easter Road.
A former Hibs star has revealed how he thought his career was to end on the Easter Road turf.
Paul McGinn, brother of club hero John and former player Stephen, featured for the Easter Road side between 2020-2022 before joining Premiership rival Motherwell, where he’s now captain. He has shone in the middle of defence in Jens Berthel Askou’s impressive side who occupy fourth and the league’s last automatic European qualifier spot, ahead of Hibs by six points, after the pair’s 0-0 draw last Saturday.
This campaign has left McGinn stunned after an injury-plagued 2024/25 term, where after missing most of the first half of the season, the 35-year-old pulled up injured again in Hibs’ 3-1 win over Motherwell during January 2025. In an interview with club media, McGinn admits venting in the Easter Road changing rooms that his career was soon to be done, but he’s happy to have turned it all around.
Paul McGinn on injury issues
McGinn said: “I don’t know how I’ve got back to this, to be honest. People can be quick to write you off, but I’m quite lucky with my build. I’m sort of lanky and don’t carry a lot of body fat, but I’ve no idea if that helps. I still feel quick, which helps, and when I start feeling otherwise, I’ll know the time is not far away. As it stands now, I feel as good as I ever have. I’ve managed to stay fit apart from those three games where my groin was a bit sore.
“Not picking up anything has been lucky as well because normally after a bad injury, like I had last year, you pick up two or three after. But the manager has managed me a couple of times, which has been good for me, although I’d have rather played. He’s been good with that as a squad because if he sees someone has played too many minutes, he pulls them out, and he manages them.
“I’d love to have the answer as to how I’ve managed to bounce back, as I could maybe extend my career by two or three years, but I’ll just keep getting on with it and we’ll take it from there.
What happened to Paul McGinn against Hibs?
“I remember coming off as a sub at Hibs thinking that was me done, fully. Andy Halliday will tell you I was in the dressing room saying, ‘That’s me done.’ I thought that was it because it was the same injury that I’d just come back from. But from there, I’d rehabbed it again, and luckily I had a good physio team and surgery team that got me up and running for the second time.
“And even the way they spoke to me, they were confident I was going to be fine, and you need that reassurance sometimes. If you’d offered me to just even be fit this season at the start and not have the success and plaudits from people, I would have taken it. To have gone from one extreme to the other is amazing.
“I don’t take anything for granted, but I do know what football is like. My brother Stephen retired, and I knew that it’s definitely around the corner for me, so you start preparing, but as I said, I’ve still got my pace and am fully fit. I feel great, so hopefully I’ve knocked it down the road a bit.”