MUM ASKED ME HOW IT WAS GOING AND THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I BROKE DOWN. I SAID: 'MUM, I'M NOT SURE I'LL EVER PLAY FOOTBALL AGAIN.' JOHN KENNEDY ON THAT INFAMOUS INJURY

•  Celtic coach John Kennedy speaks about the moment he thought his career was over... and his fight back to join in Parkhead title celebrations
•  To read the full interview, revealing Kennedy's work with injured players at Celtic and how injury inspired his elite coaching career, click here

John Kennedy suffered a catastrophic knee injury on his Scotland debut in March 2004. 

It came at the end of a week in which he had played a starring role in Celtic’s 0-0 draw against a Ronaldinho-inspired Barcelona in the Camp Nou and then started in a 2-1 win against Rangers at Ibrox. 

After multiple surgeries, Kennedy made his comeback three years later in one of the most memorable title-winning games in Celtic’s modern history, when Shunsuke Nakamura scored a last-minute free-kick against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. 

Kennedy – now the Celtic assistant manager – told the story of that famous day in 2007 to sports injury charity Podium Analytics, a charity dedicated to reducing injury in grassroots and youth sport....

 

There was a moment the day after my injury that I’ll never forget. I arrived at Celtic Park to be assessed by our club doctor, Roddy Macdonald. At this point, nobody at Celtic knew much.

They’d just seen the TV footage, knew there’d been an injury and that there could be damage to the knee.

Roddy unstrapped the splint. That was my first real look at the knee. It was absolutely huge. I just remember Roddy picking my leg up and just slowly laying it back down again.

Years later, he told me: ‘The day I picked your leg up, everything was just moving around. There was nothing holding it together.’

I went to the hospital for the scans. I remember my foot touching the floor and my leg sinking to the outside, like it was just wanting to fall apart.

One of the doctors looked at it and said: ‘This injury you don’t really get in football. This is like a car crash.’

That was when the penny dropped. I remember thinking: ‘This could be the end.’

I went home to my family. Mum asked me how it was going and that was the first time I broke down. I said: ‘Mum, I’m not sure I’ll ever play football again.’

Then, seeing my mum get so emotional, I thought: ‘I need to steady the ship here.’ So, I said: ‘No, no, I’ll be fine. We’re going to go to America and see what happens.’ And it unfolded from there.

I was out for over three years and throughout that time, the one thing that kept me going was the thought of walking back out the tunnel at Celtic Park. That was the moment I envisioned. The moment when I would say to myself: ‘I’m happy again.’

When it’s all been taken away from you – and you face these periods of great uncertainty – you need something to drive you on. And my drive back then was as much about achieving that for my family, as for myself.

When I was getting towards the end of the rehab process, I started to get into squads but was not quite ready to play. There would be times when I would come into Celtic Park on a matchday, and I wouldn’t be in the squad.

 

Click to read an extended version of John’s column for Podium

 

I’d get changed and go upstairs to the gym, which overlooked the walkways and car parks around Celtic Park. I’d put music on, and I’d just run. 

Through the blinds, you could see the supporters all piling into the stadium. Every step on that treadmill was getting me closer to my goal of walking out of that tunnel and getting back on that pitch. 

Then, when the moment came, it wasn’t Celtic Park. It was Rugby Park and a day when we had the chance to win the league. It was like a fairytale.

As the game panned out, we went 1-0 up and then Kilmarnock made it 1-1. Then, in the last minute, a Naka free-kick … then the celebrations started!

It was such a fitting game to make my comeback in, after so long out injured. I felt it as much for my family as for me.

Over the years, I was able to focus on the rehab, put in all the work to get myself back. 

I was in control, to a degree. But your family are just looking on, hoping, fingers crossed, saying prayers. 

So, that day at Rugby Park, when we won the title with the last kick of the game, was great for me, but my emotions were for everyone who had been on that journey with me.

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2025-04-25T17:12:47Z