Harry McKirdy Hibs return after heart surgery 'amazing moment' as emotional Nick Montgomery delivers glowing tribute

Emotional Nick Montgomery hailed the return of Harry McKirdy after the striker climbed off the bench for his first action since undergoing surgery on a life-threatening heart condition last summer.

The Hibs striker got a standing ovation when he appeared as a surprise 85th minute sub before his side snatched an injury-time leveller in the Scottish Premiership clash against Motherwell. Montgomery admits the sight of the 26-year-old back on the pitch was bigger than the result.

And the Easter Road boss said: “Harry McKirdy has come back from a life-threatening injury. To see that, some things are more important than football. When he came on, his energy lifted the crowd. Look, if people saw Harry and knew what he’d been through on a daily basis, it’s been really emotional today. You’re talking about a kid who didn’t know if he’d play football again. He’s been up and down and had some real down periods.

"I’ve spoken to Harry nearly every day I’ve been at the club and he seemed a million miles away then the last few weeks he got a new lease of life. We’ve had him in the last few training sessions and he’s a real livewire.

“The energy when he came on, seeing him pressing people and with a smile on his face at the end. It was an amazing moment for him and it gives him a bit of confidence to get back into full training and hopefully after the break be available to make an impact off the bench because I think that’s where we’ve really struggled this last couple of months.”

On the game Montgomery added: “I’m not happy we didn’t win the game, of course. I thought we did more than enough. We could have been three nil up in the first-half, I don’t think anyone could deny that. We had so much of the ball and so many opportunities