REDUCED TO TIERS
Arsenal star Kieran Tierney reveals he dislocated shoulder THREE times in ten minutes
KIERAN TIERNEY has revealed he dislocated his shoulder THREE times in ten minutes.
The Arsenal star, 22, has endured a tough start to life at the Emirates having missed the majority of the season through injury.
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Already carrying an injury on his arrival in London, Tierney made just 11 appearances before picking up the shoulder knock during a 3-1 win over West Ham.
And the ex-Celtic defender says it was "probably the toughest time of his life" knowing he'd be out for a lengthy period yet again.
Tierney told : "The night at West Ham was a hard one for me with a dislocated shoulder in the first ten minutes and straight away you know what you have done.
"And then another ten minutes later I done the same thing again but I landed differently.
"Then it was a set piece and my arm just went into a position where it wasn't comfortable at all and dislocated.
"Mentally it was probably the toughest time of my life. In my head I was thinking, 'I need an operation now'. I knew.
"Three times in ten minutes, nobody's shoulder should be going like that. So in my head as I was lying down I was thinking, 'That's me out for another few months'.
"I knew that devastation straight away and I think you can see it on my face."
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Tierney admits he struggled with his earlier injury and says it changes his entire training regime.
He added: "Being injured at the start of my Arsenal career was hard. Mentally it was probably the toughest time of my life.
"Having an injury changes my training routine. The start of it was all based on the physio bed. The physio would move it into different ranges and positions.
"Then light movements but it was so light you wouldn't believe it. I did a lot of bike work and did the cross trainer as well.
"There's always things you can do and there is always ways you can improve yourself although it's not on the pitch or with the ball, you are still improving yourself and your physique and every day you are injured you are improving your mentality as well.
"Watching from the sidelines is never easy but you need to take every positive you can out of it.
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"I'll be watching who is playing in my position, who I'd be playing against and how the team are playing so when I do get integrated back into training games it's like second nature and I know the way the team play, how they want to play and how the manager wants to do his things."
Tierney already has his eye on returning to action and was due to start full training this month ahead of his comeback.
That will be delayed now, but he added: "It's never ideal sitting on the sideline watching but I just want the team to win and be successful.
"Everybody loves going out and playing football but to be mentally tough and to deal with all these obstacles and hurdles that people throw at you, it's the hardest part but when you get to the other side it's the most rewarding part."
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