scan sweat for gary

The Glenavon boss played through the pain barrier towards the end of last season and despite the break from football he has not been able to shake off the pain in his left knee.

“I knew something was wrong after the Irish Cup semi-final,” said Gary. “Towards the end of the season I was only able to come on for the last 15 or 20 minutes in games.

“At first I thought it was medial ligament damage and hoped it would clear up with rehab.

“I needed an injection to play in the cup final and our club physio Lynn Carpenter thinks the symptoms now mean it is a cartilage problem and the scan will determine what I do next. If it means a small operation and maybe out for six to eight weeks then I’ll probably do that, anything else then I will have to think about if I want to play on.”

Gary admitted he had thought about hanging up the boots after the Irish Cup final.

“With the great season we had and the cup win I thought about retiring. It was a great way to bow out, but I’ll wait and see what the scan reveals before making my final decision.”

Glenavon will know their Europa League opponents on Monday.

The draw will be made in the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland where Glenavon chairman Adrian Teer along with club directors Frazer Follis and Tom Cardwell will be keeping their fingers crossed for a ‘good’ draw.

“You just have to take what you get but we are hoping the draw will be kind to us,” said Teer. “A good draw is one that does not cost the earth to get to in terms of travel.”

If I had to pick a team it would be Aberdeen, but I’m sure the players would go for the likes of SanMarino.”