ERIK Sviatchenko, the Celtic defender, said he feared he would end up with a broken leg after being victim to a reckless second half challenge from Scotland's Liam Bridcutt during the international friendly with Denmark. The Dane crumpled to the turf after the incident, although his club captain Scott Brown was picked up on the microphone telling him to 'stop moaning'. Bridcutt, on-loan at Leeds, escaped with a booking and Sviatchenko left Hampden feeling no serious ill effects.
"I was very lucky," said Sviatchenko. "It was a horrible tackle. When you see the replay, it is unbelievable that I didn't get a serious injury. I said to the referee that he could have broken my leg,
"But in a split second he had to make the decision and he must have felt he touched the ball first. I was quite certain that I was first to the ball and I tried to pass it backwards. He came through me with all he had, 120 per cent.
"I feel a bit sore in my knee but I think it is just the shock. What happened, happened. I am not going to cry about it. I am just relieved that I will be able to play games for Celtic.
"Thankfully it is not a bad one. I have had my injuries in the past and I don't want to be out again."
With the Old Firm William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final match looming on the horizon on April 17 and a Ladbrokes Premiership title to aim for, Sviatchenko - signed for around £2m in January - was just relieved not to miss any playing time.
"There are so many big games coming up and of course I want to play in them all," he said. "I feel in good shape, I have trained well with Denmark and my legs feel fresh. I am ready to rejoin my squad and fight for everything we have to go for. I am going to recover from this game and then prepare for an important game on Saturday. This other game [the Old Firm match] is a while away yet and it won't be a problem to focus on the league games. We are all professionals and we are taking it one game at a time."
John McGinn, named sponsors' man of the match on the night, said he was delighted with playing 90 minutes on his full debut but the game's best player was goalkeeper Craig Gordon. "I was delighted to play the full match, especially with some really good players on the bench. It was crazy to get man of the match. But it should have been Craig's award - he was the man of the match. We are a little bit disappointed with the chances they created at the end."
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