BY DARREN JOHNSTONE – CAPITAL CITY PRESS
SCOTLAND striker Chris Martin insists he will be ready for club and country from the beginning of next season following a nightmare injury lay-off.
Martin missed the closing three months of the Championship campaign with Derby County due to a persistent hamstring injury and was subsequently not available for the international matches against Gibraltar, Qatar and Ireland.
Scotland return to Euro 2016 Group D action against Georgia in September and Martin, who has netted 46 goals in the last two seasons for the Rams, admits he plans to be in contention for that clash.
He said: “I went down to London to see the surgeon and he recommended that I have some steroid injections to clear the problem up.
“The surgeon said that any time you can avoid surgery, then that’s the best thing for you.
“It’s been a slightly frustrating summer because I’ve had to drag it out with injections. After each one, you have to have seven days of total rest.
“I wasn’t allowed to leave the country, so I was twiddling my thumbs a little bit.
“I’m hoping to progress this week and start running again.”
Speaking to the Derby Telegraph, he added: “I’ve got a couple of weeks before the lads come back. Hopefully, I’ll be up to speed by the time they do.
“So it’s all positive at the moment and hopefully it remains that way.
“If you can do a full pre-season, it stands you in good stead for the rest of the campaign.
“I’m looking to do that and hit the ground running when the season starts.”
