Hendry ready to bounce back after double hernia surgery

Callum Hendry is ready to get back to his best for Motherwell after the club helped him fix an injury problem that had dogged him for years.

The 28-year-old came on as a late substitute against Hearts in Motherwell's 3-1 defeat a fortnight ago - his first appearance of 2026 - after two injuries since joining from MK Dons last summer.

The former Aberdeen and Kilmarnock forward is yet to score for the Fir Park side, but a double hernia operation has given him a new lease of life.

"It's been a tough season," he said.

"I've carried an injury that I've not known about, no one's known about for a few years, so it's set me back. But Motherwell have helped me fix that and I feel fit now.

"It's an enjoyable team to be a part of. Some of the individual qualities for a team like Motherwell, for a team this size, it's quite rare.

"So I think we just need to enjoy it, just like the fans do. We appreciate it.

"Training, games, you can see it as well. Not just the individual quality, but when the patterns are playing and stuff comes together, it's like watching one of the best teams in Europe. It's great to be a part of it."

Hendry bounced back from major knee injuries in his formative years but had never previously experienced the long-standing uncertainty brought about by his recent fitness woes.

"I just feel fresh again," he added.

"It's weird, coming back from my second ACL at Blackburn, I was only 17, so I'd never played first-team football. This is probably the worst one I've had, since being an adult and playing first-team football.

"I didn't know what was wrong, so I'm glad we've got it fixed now. You just feel you're waking up fresh, you're not stiff, things aren't hurting.

"Even just after one training session, it was like, oh, I'm stiff again.

"It was a double hernia, but it had been coming and going for years, since I was at St Johnstone, and we didn't really know the full extent of it until I went to see a specialist in London this season.

"I played through it at Salford and MK, and the specialist said the stop-start pre-season in MK and then moving up here probably didn't help.

"But I'm just glad to get to the bottom of it and get fit again. Hopefully I can play my part and grab some long-awaited goals, because I'm due them, and I think I owe the boys in there a few of them."