Ciaron Harkin backed to bounce back from devastating injury blow

Ruaidhri Higgins has backed Ciaron Harkin to bounce back from a devastating recurrence of his ACL injury which he suffered in training earlier this week.

The midfielder, who last played for the Candystripes against Shamrock Rovers back in February, was nearing a return to full fitness after seven months out, will undergo a scan tomorrow to uncover the extent of the damage, with another long period of rehabilitation looking likely.

It is horrible news for Harkin, his team mates and his manager, and Higgins admitted that everyone has been devastated by the injury.

“We’re all heartbroken for him,” he said. “It will be really difficult for him to get his head around. He has worked so, so hard seven months into his rehab and he was flying. We were easing him back in and something so innocuous happens.

“It obviously wasn’t nice, wasn’t pleasant and the scan showed that as well that he has to go and see a specialist now and get real confirmation of what the road looks like going forward and we’ll all be here for him, even more so because it’s going to be even more challenging for him.”

Higgins however, is in no doubt that Harkin will fight back from this latest setback, and show the heart and tenacity off the pitch that he shows on it.

“If anybody, and I mean it, if anybody can recover from another setback like that, it’s him,” he continued. “He has a massive heart and a massive personality and he’s loved by everybody here. What is probably even harder for him is that this club means the world to him; he has grown up a Derry fan and I’m sure he’s heartbroken that he’s going to miss another large chunk of time.”

It was hoped that Harkin would return to the squad in the coming weeks, but that is no longer an option, with Higgins admitting that everyone is feeling his pain.

“He’s so hardworking and so honest,” he said. “He’s the front and centre of our dressing room and everyone is absolutely gutted for him. He knows he’ll have the full support of the club and the players and the staff and I’m sure the supporters as well. For a slight fella, he’s got the biggest heart you’ll ever see and if anybody can recover mentally and physically from something like this, it’s him.”

Huge game

The bad news comes on the cusp of another huge game for Derry City, this time against St. Patrick’s Athletic. Both teams are in exceptional form with the Candystripes winning their last six games in all competitions, while St. Pat’s have won their last five games. Something ahs to give at Inchicore tomorrow night.

“They are all big games,” Higgins insisted. “They are in good form and we’re in good form, but we’ll be going there to win, playing on the front foot like we always do and try and get a big three points.

“We’ve shown over the course of the season that we can cut it against anybody, but we’re not surprised because that’s what we expect. We expect to close the gap and we expect to win every single match that we go into because we have a group of players that are capable of doing that.”

Derry City’s record on the road this season is nothing short of superb, and they go to St. Pat’s tomorrow night hoping for their eighth win in nine games in Dublin in 2022. City won 4-0 at Inchicore back in April, but since then Tim Clancy’s side have improved considerably.

“They have strengthened, they have changed their system and they are on a brilliant run,” Higgins acknowledged. “It’s going to be two in form teams going at it and they won’t shirk it and we won’t shirk it so it makes for a good game.”