Rocky Bushiri insists he’ll never back down from backing up his Hibs mates - even though he’ll miss the first two league games of the season for his part in May’s Tynecastle tear-up.
The powerful defender was right in the heart of the ruck again as Saturday’s pre-season friendly win over FC Europa in Marbella threatened to boil over in a Spanish heatwave. An x-rated challenge on Elie Youan from the Gibraltar side’s Nicholas Pozo saw tempers flare and Bushiri was first on scene to protect his team mate. But while Rocky pulls no punches in the heat of battle he admits the fallout from the derby chaos that closed the season and saw him hit with a two game ban is a source of huge frustration.
The Belgian defender was an unused sub but couldn’t avoid getting involved as all hell broke loose at the final whistle and fists, insults and even hot water bottles flew. He insists he’s forgotten about it but the pain at missing the Premiership opener at home to St Mirren and then the trip to face Motherwell is lingering on. And the scenes at Estepona Football Centre on Saturday might well have brought it all flooding back.
He said: “I did not see the challenge on Elie too well because I was moving up the park but I heard the noise and then saw everyone come together. You need to relax in those kind of games because there’s a big season ahead with Europe as well.
“Thankfully Elie wasn’t injured. I will stand up for my team always. It happens in football and you see it. We have forgotten about it. We’ve not a spoken about it since.
“Let’s forget about Tynecastle! It’s a new season. That happened and it happens in football everywhere. You have to move on. It’s not nice to miss the first two games. You are doing pre-season and looking forward to the first game. But I’ll do my suspension.
“It’s frustrating because it’s early, I’m working hard here and we are doing the shape for the start of the season but you’re not able to play the first two league games. But it goes quick so I will be there.
“We have a good group, a family. Even the new boys always feel good with everybody. You can see Adam Le Fondre scored on Saturday and so he feels the other players already. It’s all positive.
“Dylan Levitt is a good player. It’s not like I knew him but I knew who he was from playing against him. He strengthens our midfield.
“I’ve not looked at who else has signed who. But listen, we have Thursday European games coming so we take it game by game and training session by training session. We’re here to work hard and are looking forward to our first European game. Then we will speak about our ambitions.”
Bushiri has only played three minutes of competitive football since injuring his ankle in the 3-0 Scottish Cup defeat to Hearts in May.
But he was fit enough to make the bench for the closing games and make a late appearance in the 4-2 victory over champions Celtic in May. That was followed by a first call-up for the Congo international team after switching allegiance from Belgium.
And the 23-year-old insists he’s bursting to get back on the grass for real under Lee Johnson when the Euro qualifiers come round later this month against either Faroese side Vikingur or Andorrans Inter Club d’Escaldes. He said: “I’m fully recovered from the injury. I’ve been on international duty and didn’t have too long a break. I stayed fit and I’m ready to go again.
“I was having a good season but that’s football. You have to be mentally strong to be there for the team even when you’re injured you need to work hard. I was really sad in the beginning. But I had support from the boys, the staff, the physios.
“Everything went well and I got that international call up which was great. It’s all positive. It was not broken. But I knew straight away we are going for a serious rehab here.
“Sometimes you can tell after a challenge. It’s difficult to say how it felt but it was something you normally don’t feel so I knew something was not right.”
One Hibee who won’t be seen for a while is Harry McKirdy. The striker got the shock news he requires open heart surgery after routine pre-season tests flagged up an issue. It’s taken everyone at Easter Road by shock.
But Bushiri says the squad have rallied round their team mate. He said: “It’s not nice and you don’t know for how long it is. Sometimes we think we are in good shape and we all take care of ourselves but there are things out of our control.
“In football everyone is different. Some take more time to settle than others. I had a difficult time to start as well. We have staff and people around him that will support him and make sure Harry comes back in the best shape. I sent him a message and said I was sad to hear his news. And that I hope he recovers well.”
