St Mirren goalkeeper reveals surgery required after Celtic substitution

St Mirren goalkeeper Ryan Mullen has revealed that he requires surgery after sustaining a quad injury in Sunday’s Scottish Cup Semi Final defeat to Celtic. The 24-year-old was deputising for No.1 Shamal George for the second weekend in a row but made a crucial error which allowed Daizen Maeda to open the scoring.

Within the first fifteen minutes, Mullen appeared to pull up when clearing the ball while being pursued by Arne Engels. This prompted the substitution with 17-year-old Grant Tamosevicius to replacing Mullen.

Given Mullen’s connection to Celtic, there had been some outrageous suggestions that he had feigned the injury. The vast majority of this bizarre rhetoric on social media came from Rangers fans but some Saints fans vented their anger at Mullen’s substitution.

Speaking on Twitter, Mullen revealed that he required surgery as a result of the injury.

“To have a moment like that on Sunday was devastating. A mistake coupled up with blowing out my quad, wasn’t what I pictured the biggest opportunity so far in my career to go like.

“It was even harder to pluck up the courage to walk off the pitch, but ultimately the team must come first. The mistake and the pain were both something I could handle, but putting the team at risk didn’t sit right with me.

“To my family, friends, teammates and supporters, I want to thank you for the encouragement I’ve had, it has been so uplifting. I’ll be right behind yous the rest of the season and when we all pull in the same direction, it’s amazing what this team is capable of!

“To Granty, you are well beyond your years and should be proud of yourself for how well you done. The decision to come off was made easier knowing how capable you are!