Glasgow | A milestone night for Kieran Tierney

Celtic V Braga Preview

Kieran Tierney will reach 400 senior appearances against the Portuguese side in the Europa League.

Author | Sean M

Stadium | Celtic Park

Having opened their league phase campaign with a 1-1 draw away to Red Star Belgrade, Celtic host Braga.  

Even if they don't want to be playing in UEFA's 2nd tier competition, a good run here will be a much needed boost to a club that has seen conflict and unrest in the board room and on the terraces. 

A look at a milestone night for a special player

Should he play against Braga, Tierney's appearance tally stands at 180 games for Celtic, 144 for Arsenal, 26 for Real Sociedad and exactly 50 for Scotland.

It is a sizeable total, but Tierney amassed many of them early. By 18 he had almost 40 appearances, by 19 nearly 80, and by 20 close to 140.

Tierney celebrating back in 2017

So much football so soon. And when it comes to Tierney, there are other numbers that tell their own story. More than 800 days lost to injury since his debut at 17. Eighteen separate setbacks and almost 150 matches missed. Just one full 90 minutes this season and only two since June 2024.

The last time he played back-to-back games in full was three and a half years ago, at a point when he was thriving at Arsenal. He was seen then as a future captain, one of the club’s most important players. It was also the season that gave rise to his cult status, when he turned up with his boots in a Tesco carrier bag, a down-to-earth figure in a sport often dominated by flashiness.

The milestone has come only after 11 punishing years. Tierney might have reached it long before had it not been for the repeated blows to his body: a broken leg, dislocated shoulders, ruptured ankle ligaments, a torn knee, hernia, hip problems and a hamstring ripped from the bone.

Recovery and a journey back home for Tierney

He is still striving to return to his former self, if that is even possible, a prospect many question. Since his return to Glasgow, he has appeared a diminished presence, though it is still early in his attempt to recover the pace and power that once defined him.

Fans singing Tierney's name throughout the years

There has been little of the exuberance he once showed and only hints of the overlapping energy that made his best performances so compelling. In most matches he can be easy to miss, which is notable for a player who was once impossible to overlook.

Doubt has followed him throughout his career. It is difficult to say how many times Tierney has had to fight back from adversity, but calling this the third or fourth revival of his career would not be far off. For some, even that might be a conservative estimate.