The midfielder will play for Ireland against the Netherlands on Saturday before returning to the Dons.
Jamie McGrath insists he’s over the hamstring injury that ruled him out of Aberdeen’s thrashing at Celtic as he gears up for a massive month for club and country.
The midfielder’s fine form at Pittodrie saw him included in Stephen Kenny’s Ireland squad to face the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Saturday nine days on from his wondergoal in Aberdeen’s 2-2 draw with PAOK. That draw in Greece came at a price as McGrath pulled up with a hamstring problem that ruled I’m out of the 6-0 humbling at Celtic Park.
Scans have since cleared the 27-year-old of any lasting damage, though, and McGrath is fighting fit to face the Dutch as Ireland look to bring some pride back to a brutal Euro qualifying group. After that, he’s determined to finish the Dons’ Euro campaign on a high note and grab the first piece of silverware of the season when they tackle in the Viaplay Cup Final next month.
Rangers also visit Pittodrie when the Premiership resumes next weekend. And McGrath said, “The hamstring is a lot better than I thought. I had scans, and I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to go on Saturday. It was a slight tweak, and luckily enough, there was no structural damage. So hopefully, I will be ready to go.
“It was a nice moment for me (scoring against PAOK) and my first European goal as well. It was a lovely feeling to score in such a big European match away from home. That was one of my best moments of the season.
“We’ve had a decent start to the season. We went to Ibrox, won, and found ourselves in a cup final. There were some big results in Europe as well. It’s been decent It’s a nice feeling looking forward to a cup final. It will be a really good experience, and hopefully, we’ll get some silverware. It’s a big occasion. Celtic and Rangers tend to win their fair share, so it would be a really good achievement if we upset that.”
McGrath has five goals to his name this season, including in the 3-1 win at Ibrox, and he said, “I want to add more goals. I’ve had a good return the last few seasons and want to keep that coming. Doing that gives me a better chance of playing regularly for Ireland.”
McGrath joins former Dons loanee Liam Scales in the Ireland squad heading to the Johan Cruyff Arena. And he reckons the Celtic defender is well worthy of his place on Kenny’s side.
He said, “Liam is playing well; it’s great to see, and if things went a bit differently, we could have been teammates at Aberdeen. I’m delighted to see him kicking on at Celtic. He’s been one of the best defenders in the league this season.”
The former St Mirren midfielder returned to Scotland with the Dons in the summer, via a loan stint at Dundee United last season, after a spell at Wigan Athletic. And he reckons that decision has been vindicated by his Ireland recall.
He said, “I could have taken the easy route and stayed playing in the championship. But I wanted to get back out playing, so I probably took the harder move and went back to Scotland.
“I have started to score goals there again and am back loving the game. Thankfully, the gaffer saw that and called me back up, which was an amazing feeling.”
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