Fit-again Celtic defender Mulgrew opens up on Instagram abuse after Ajax walk-off

Mulgrew suffered a recurrence of the quad injury which he had been sidelined for over two months with during the Europa League match against Ajax at Celtic Park in November.

The defender, who was making his competitive comeback, was devastated by the setback and left the field with three minutes remaining in a fixture which his team lost 2-1.

Mulgrew back to his best with Celtic and Scotland thanks to self-imposed social media blackout

But Vaclav Cerny had just scored what turned out to be the winning goal for visitors and the Scotland internationalist was heavily criticised by fans for letting the team down.

The 30-year-old issued a statement on social media website Instagram the following day to defend himself against the accusations and explain what had actually happened.

But he has broken his silence on the bizarre incident here in Malta as he prepared with the national team for the friendly international with France in Metz on Saturday evening.

“People think I just ran off the pitch,” said Mulgrew. “Some of the comments people wrote to me on social media made out as if it was my ball, I took the huff and ran off the park with it the way you did when you played as a wee boy in the streets.

“I knew I had sustained the same injury which had kept me out a while after Aberdeen. I knew what had happened.

“When I had the original injury against Aberdeen at Pittodrie it went when there were three minutes left and we were 2-1 down. I couldn’t go off the park that day. Not when we were behind. I had no idea how severe it was, I just kept playing.

“I had to play a few long balls because we were chasing an equaliser and I think I had a couple of sprints as well. So in that last few minutes I’ve obviously made the problem worse. That added six to eight weeks onto what it might have been had I just came off that night.

“But nobody remembers you for staying on that extra three minutes and if you walk off you are the worst guy in the world.

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“So when it came to the Ajax game I went on as a sub and knew right away it had gone again. I said to Scotty Allan ‘you need to sit in here. I’ve done it again.’

“I thought back to the Aberdeen experience and thought ‘no, I need to go off this time’. To my mind it was better for me and better for the team if I had it treated and got back quicker. I could have stayed on, made it worse and been out even longer.”

He added: “I got a hard time on Instagram. I didn’t see it coming. When I left the game my mind was on the injury. As I was icing my leg I clicked my phone on and Instagram just lit up.

“Supporters were writing to me accusing me of stuff and I couldn’t believe it. My mindset was nowhere near that. It never occurred to me people would think that.

“I’m trying to do the right thing, but some people didn’t have a clue. They thought I had taken the huff because we are 2-1 down and thought ‘stuff this, I’m off.’ Your mindset is far removed from that and it’s unbelievable to you that people actually think you would do that. I suppose that’s how the world is now.”

Meanwhile, Mulgrew, whose contract with Celtic expired yesterday, has revealed he will hold talks with new manager Brendan Rodgers when he returns from international duty and is hoping to agree a new deal with the Parkhead club quickly.

But the versatile player, who can play in a variety of positions in defence and midfield, has admitted it may take some time to finalise terms with the Scottish champions and extend his stay in Glasgow.

“I’ve spoken to the manager and arranged to meet him so hopefully we can discuss his plans for me and get something done,” he said. “That is a priority, to get something sorted. You want to get things sorted as quickly as possible.

“But it never happens like that. You want it done properly and it takes time. But in the meantime noting changes for me - I just need to stay as fit as I can and be ready for next season.

“The priority for me this summer is to stay fit and make myself stronger to have a good season next season. This trip is perfect for it because the manager’s training is the best I’ve been involved in for club and country. It’s the perfect place to be training hard and working on the gym whatever happens for myself.”