Séamus Coleman has described the sight of James McCarthy suffering much the same injury he did in the World Cup qualifier against Wales as “heartbreaking,” but says that the midfielder’s broken leg has given new impetus to his own campaign to get back playing first team football.
McCarthy suffered a double fracture last Saturday when he sought to prevent Saloman Rondon from getting a shot away in the 1-1 draw with West Brom but has since revealed via social media that the surgery he underwent on his leg was a success. It will, however, be a long road back, as the Donegalman knows only too well.
“It was obviously heartbreaking for me to see,” said Coleman in an interview with the Everton FC website. “That’s nothing to do with my own injury – it’s because he is a very close friend. He is someone I really admire and it wasn’t nice to see.
“James will be back from it (though),” said the defender who played his first competitive football in 10 months only this week when he turned out for the club’s under-23s. “You have to keep that belief and I know James will. The first days and weeks aren’t the best and there will be a little bit of pain.
“But he is a strong person with a great family around him. I’ll be there for him every step of the way. I know the little aches and pains he will be feeling week by week so I will do all I can to make sure he gets that motivation from the outside looking in.”
Completing his own recovery is now, he says, a way of demonstrating to the 27-year-old that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
"Every time I step out at Goodison or at training I will be doing all I can to be as good as I can be so that he can watch Match of the Day or whatever and see that there is a way back. I have no doubt James will be okay. I want to go out there every week and do as well as I possibly can to show James that he will be back and he will be fine."
McCarthy is, in fact, the third senior republic of Ireland international to suffer the injury in under two years with Alan Judge also just returning to first team action at Brentford after having broken his leg badly in April 2016.
