Milestone Moments

Craig Gordon marked his 200th appearance for Celtic with his 100th clean sheet, having shown characteristic determination to return from injury earlier than anticipated

- Mark Henderson

AT the end of January, the View sat down with Craig Gordon to discuss his impending Celtic milestone of 200 appearances. After being sidelined for three years with a career-threatening injury, the goalkeeper revealed how he had come to cherish every match, making these career landmarks all the more special.  If anyone in football didn’t take things for granted, it was the 35-year-old, but the cruel twist that followed was still tough to take.

In his 199th match for the club, the Scotland internationalist collided with Hibernian defender Efe Ambrose on the stroke of half-time. He was unable to continue. Worse still, he had injured the same knee that had almost forced him to give up the game he loves. A feeling of dread was natural. Thankfully, a scan 24 hours later showed it was not as serious as Gordon had first feared, though he still had a long road ahead of him.

Helped by his past experiences of rehab, he knew exactly what was required, physically and mentally, to give himself the best possible chance of a full recovery and he got to work in earnest. Just over two months later, and several weeks ahead of schedule, Gordon’s application and fortitude were rewarded.

He returned to the Celtic team in last week’s goal-less draw with Dundee to finally register a double century of appearance in the Hoops, marking the occasion with his 100th clean sheet for the club in the 0-0 draw. Once again, he caught up with the View again at Lennoxtown to reflect on his achievement and explained how the past few months had simply made him even more grateful for these moments.

“It does change my perspective actually,” he said in an exclusive interview. “It was another reminder of how close we all are to not playing another game. I had that before and it probably helped me this time around as I knew I could come back again.