 John Kennedy's promising career has been stalled |
Celtic defender John Kennedy has received welcome news that his knee injury is not as bad as first feared. The 20-year-old was stretchered off 14 minutes into his Scotland debut against Romania in March, after a challenge from Wolves striker Vio Ganea.
The initial diagnosis revealed Kennedy had sustained cruciate and lateral ligament damage.
However, an exploratory operation has now revealed the damage has only affected the cruciate ligament.
Kennedy is in Colorado being assessed by Dr Richard Steadman, the man responsible for saving the careers of Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The young defender's agent, Paul Cherry, explained to the Sunday Mail that Kennedy will still be sidelined for a year but that the damage has only affected the cruciate ligament rather than a ruptured medial ligament.
 |  He's pleased the damage is not as bad as first feared |
"I spoke to John on the phone yesterday and his spirits are much higher," said Cherry.
"Only the cruciate needs to be repaired and his injury is the same as the one that Alessandro del Piero of Juventus suffered a few years ago.
"The Italian made a full recovery and it's comforting that Dr Steadman performed his operation plus surgery on Alan Shearer and Ronaldo.
"It's still serious and John faces a long road back to fitness but it's nice for him to get some good news at last."
Cherry also revealed that Kennedy has been inundated with cards from well-wishers but one in particular struck a chord with the youngster.
"The fax from (Rangers manager) Alex McLeish wishing him luck was a fantastic gesture," said Cherry.
MMIX
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