Update: Aaron Doran's former teammate, Shane Sutherland, has launched a fundraiser to help raise money to pay for Doran's ACL surgery - the same operation both players have alleged Inverness Caledonian Thistle have failed to organise for the midfielder.
I could do with your help to reach my fundraising target. Every single share and donation makes a difference. https://t.co/vpvcajaohb
Plz share and donate if possible for a good mate to get him back on football pitch asap ⚽️
— Shane Sutherland (@SJSuth10) June 11, 2024
Original story: Inverness Caledonian Thistle have been accused of 'messing about' with the life of club legend Aaron Doran.
Speaking to the Press and Journal, the Caley Thistle stalwart has revealed that the club has twice cancelled his appointments to go for ACL surgery. He suffered the injury playing against Raith Rovers in April.
The Irishman, 33, has also claimed that his queries over whether they will indeed pay for the operation have fallen upon deaf ears. The club is currently in a state of flux following their Championship play-off final loss to Hamilton Accies, with chiefs fighting hard to find new investment to avoid the possibility of administration.
Doran has played for the Highland club for 14 years but is now out of contract. He was part of the 2015 Scottish Cup winning side and also played as Caley Thistle won the Challenge Cup two years later.
“I have had two surgeries booked in by the physio, Dan (Cluett), for May 22 and May 29, and the club cancelled them both – that last one was cancelled the day before, which wasn’t great," Doran told P&J. “Dan was out of contract on May 30, but he did book me in for surgery next Wednesday.
“I don’t know why the club cancelled the surgeries. I got injured on April 19 and the scan showed I had a ruptured ACL and the consultant said I needed surgery.
“Then I had a meeting with the club. One of the directors is a retired knee surgeon (Panos Thomas), and one of the options put forward was I should try and rehab it – but you can’t rehab a ruptured ACL and try to play professional football. I said that didn’t work for me.
“I need to get this fixed as I can’t even run after my kids. I’m hobbling about.
“The physio agreed with me that we needed surgery. The club said that was fine – but both dates have been cancelled. With the physio now gone, I am now trying to contact the club and sort this out.
“No one has helped. I have messaged a few people and they have not got back to me. They did confirm through messages on my phone they would pay for surgery for any date in June, but I’ve not been able to confirm, after two cancelled dates, whether this is the case. It’s not looking too good.
“I need to get my knee sorted. Next week will be nine weeks out injured when I could already have had seven or eight weeks of recovery by then. This is pushing me back.
“For whatever time I have left of my career, losing another two months is not good."
Former teammate Shane Sutherland has taken to social media to criticise the recently relegated League One club over the matter.
In response to the story, Sutherland wrote on X: "14 years, 393 games, long-term injuries, showed nothing but loyalty to the club through that 14 years.
"This is an absolute disgrace, the worst treatment of a player I’ve ever heard of. Messing about with his life, not just his football career."
