I was trapped in a Hickey situation but I had to say no to Euros call from the gaffer

SAYS AARON HICKEY

- BY KEITH JACKSON

HE was invited to join up with Scotland's squad at their idyllic Alpine base in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

But Aaron Hickey simply couldn't face being so close to a major finals yet so far away from actually participating in it.

So he stayed at home instead with his shredded hamstring, watching the Euros from his couch, wondering if he might ever get the chance to pull on a Scotland shirt again.

Hickey had initially hoped to be passed fit by Brentford's medical team in time to make the flight carrying his teammates into Bavaria.

But that dream was cruelly snatched away when the injury recurred towards the end of his rehab and he was ordered under the knife for a second career saving round of surgery.

In all, he was out of the game for the guts of two years. A career that had been until that point crashing up through the stratosphere, suddenly placed on pause.

And watching all of his wildest dreams continue without him being there was possibly the lowest point of all.

The fullback said: "Yeah, it was difficult. I could have gone with the squad to Germany - and I was dying to go - but in the back of my head I was thinking it would be really hard to go and not play or be involved.

"So I just stayed at home and watched the games with my friends supporting the team. It was difficult not to be there.

"I watched one of the games with my friends and the others with my family. It was hard, personally, to not be there.