Hickey ends 659 days of hurt as Brentford & Scotland watch on

Rarely can an eight-minute cameo as a late substitute ever have felt so sweet.

After nearly two years out of the game, however, Aaron Hickey's return to action is a welcome shot in the arm for Brentford, Scotland and, of course, the player himself.

His appearance in the 88th minute at the City Ground, with the game long since won by Nottingham Forest, was the first time the former Hearts and Bologna star had featured competitively for the Bees since October 2023.

A serious injury meant he did not just miss out on last summer's European Championships for Scotland, but indeed the entirety of the 2024-25 Premier League season.

With Scotland's World Cup qualifiers about to start, and a new domestic season just kicking off, his return couldn't have come at a better time.

It all happened in 2023 against Chelsea.

The young Scot, who had joined the year before from Bologna after rising through the ranks at Hearts, suffered a hamstring issue during the Bees' Premier League game against the Stamford Bridge club.

He then endured a further setback in his recovery during a training session in August 2024 before undergoing surgery for a second time.

A worrying and uncertain time for any player, but his potential was underlined in January this year when he signed a new deal keeping him at Brentford until at least the summer of 2028.

Fast forward to Sunday, and his eight touches all the way down the right flank will be celebrated by all connected with the club.

"He's a player that without doubt, the feeling is in Brentford, can make another step," said Dundee manager Steven Pressley, who was Brentford's head of individual player development.

"We believed at Brentford that if Hickey was to get rhythm and games behind him and develop that he could definitely play for one of the top six sides in England.

"He's a top boy who's been through a really challenging time from a mental perspective. He'd worked extremely hard initially to come back from the first hamstring injury and then he got a setback which resulted in further surgery.

"That in itself kept him out for the best part of 14 months which as a player is exceptionally challenging especially when it's at a pivotal juncture in your career. "

Getting through such a spell out takes great mental strength, attitude, and patience.

And Craig Levein, who worked with Hickey at Hearts, has pleaded for the latter. He has absolutely no doubt, however, that the lad he had at Tynecastle as a teenager has the resilience to come back better than ever.

One story from the Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic in 2019 gives a good insight into how unfazed Hickey, just 16 at the time, was by the size of the challenge.

"We were on the bus through to Glasgow," Levein recalled, "and somebody brought it to my attention that I should take a look at the back of the bus. So I walked up and there was Aaron lying sleeping. Which I thought summed it all up. He's got the biggest thing in his life.

"That just demonstrated that he wasn't fazed by what was about to happen. And he played really well in the match, to be fair, he was excellent. It was great to see him move on to Bologna and do extremely well there. He was the torch-bearer for Scots in Italian football really."

Then came the move to Brentford, where he was an instant success until injury stopped him in his tracks.

Up until then, he had made the right-back position his own in his debut season in England's top flight when he played 26 times for the Bees in the 2022-23 campaign.

The past couple of years have tested him mentally and physically, but Pressley believes he'll come back an even better player.

"He's incredibly gifted in terms of being able to play off both feet," he said.

"At times you wouldn't even know which was his stronger foot. He's a really good athlete and a modern-day fullback in the sense that he has the ability to go from the fullback position and invert into the 'six' position and play comfortably in the middle of the pitch.

"He has so many attributes. He just needs games and time and rhythm to regain that form."

It's not just football fans in Brentford who will be following Hickey's return. There will be plenty north of the border, too.

While left-back has long been a source of debate for Scotland with both Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson, on the opposite side, it's been a source of discontent for the Tartan Army.

Scotland get their World Cup qualifying bid under way on 5 September in Copenhagen, and Steve Clarke is due to name his squad imminently.

"I'm very confident he'll get back to the level that he was," said former national team boss Levein.

"I'm looking forward to seeing him playing. I think the Scottish supporters will be looking forward to seeing him playing. Steve Clarke will be delighted to get him back in the fold.

"With that ability to play right-back and left-back equally well, for me he's the first guy in the squad, you know, because he's almost like two players."

It would appear Hickey doesn't lose sleep over much. He's taken success and setbacks in his stride and is now setting out to convince new manager Keith Andrews - and old national boss Clarke - that he should once again be the first name on the team-sheet.