Sean Mackie opens up on his four-month wait for Ross County debut after injury battle

Sean Mackie has opened up on the hamstring injury which delayed his Ross County debut for four months after his loan switch from Falkirk.

The 27-year-old, who has made more than 90 appearances for the Bairns, was a loan capture made by former boss Tony Docherty.

However, in a bounce game in preparation for playing for County, he suffered an injury and has spent the past four months working his way back to fitness.

On Saturday, he made a surprise appearance in the matchday squad at Morton and came on for the closing 17 minutes for his first taste of action.

The game ended in a 2-1 defeat and plunged the Highland club back bottom of the Championship ahead of Tuesday night’s rearranged fixture away to Queen’s Park, who are two points ahead following their shock 2-1 win over third-placed Arbroath. 

Mackie built up good experience of the Championship, having been part of Falkirk and Hibs teams to win the division. He also won the League One title with the Bairns in 2023-24.

County are battling to avoid a second successive relegation with only 14 league games left to go.

Bounce game blow led to ‘nightmare’

Mackie revealed how the injury happened and the battle he has faced.

He said: “It obviously didn’t go the way I wanted it to go, getting beat, but for me, getting back out there and getting minutes again was a positive.

“The injury happened in a bounce game. I’d just signed on the Tuesday and had a bounce game on the Wednesday.

“In the warm-up I just got caught on the ball and felt a pop in my hamstring.

“From the scan, it turned out it didn’t look too bad – maybe four weeks – but turned into a tendinopathy (persistent pain and inflammation in tendons caused by chronic overload or repetitive strain) and I had to strike a balance between not loading it too much and not loading it enough.

“The pain wasn’t going away and I was trying to run through it.

“There was no time-frame – it was just a case of seeing how it healed and recovered.

“That was the worst bit. I’d just signed on loan, but hadn’t kicked a ball for them yet.

“It was a bit of a nightmare for me, personally. You’re watching the team and you want to be out there, helping the boys.

“Fingers crossed, it is behind me now and I’m working back to full fitness.”

Driven to lift County out of the mire

Mackie explained what he will offer the team on the left flank and was boosted by being back in action at Cappielow.

He added: “I’ve played in a back three before, played as a wing-back and if he wants to go to a four I’ve played left-back, so I’m quite happy with whatever role I’m needed in.

“I’m just looking forward to being back involved again. That was the big positive on Saturday, getting back into the routine and actually having a game to look forward to at the weekend.

“It was a good feeling. I was oozing about, but 20 minutes felt like 60 minutes because it has been that long.

“But it was good to get involved and have a point to prove, in the position we’re in.

“The motivation is to get the club out of that position.

“It is a point to prove to myself. I’ve had a couple of setbacks injury-wise in my career, with a while on the sidelines.

“It is a point to prove that I’m fully fit and can actually kick on now.”

[Source: Press and Journal]