Cammy Devlin hailed for bravery by Australia boss as bloodied Hearts star plays on with stitches in nasty head injury
dailyrecord.co.ukHearts midfielder Cammy Devlin was hailed for his energy after his full Australia debut saw him play through the pain barrier of a bloody head knock.The Tynecastle hero had to have stitches inserted in a wound caused by an early collision in the Socceroos’ 2-1 friendly defeat to Ecuador in Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.
Devlin, making his first start for his country, was eventually replaced after 54 minutes by Melbourne City’s Aiden O’Neill.But not before he’d been bandaged up Terry Butcher-style after a full-blooded first half tackle saw him caught on the side of the head by an opposition knee.
Aussie boss Graham Arnold paid tribute to the 24-year-old’s bravery and willingness to continue flying into tackles after the ugly first half collision.
He said: “That’s Cammy’s energy. He had stitches at half time which I was a bit concerned about in the second half. He didn’t want to come off but I thought it would be safer.”Arnold handed Devlin a place in his World Cup squad back in November and while the midfielder failed to feature in their march to the last 16 he is seen as a key man for the national side’s future.
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