There were cake and candles inside Scotland’s pristine training base in Charlotte yesterday.
Having turned 24, Aaron Hickey went through the motions of blowing the flames out yet stopped short of cutting himself a slice. The eve of the World Cup is the one time when you will gladly have your cake but not eat it.
‘I’ll spend it with my team-mates, maybe get a little cake at dinner, but none of us will eat it,’ said the full-back.
‘My dream is just being here to be honest. Playing at a World Cup with your country is everything.’
There are some beguiling stories within Steve Clarke’s 26-man squad. None, though, can surely top Hickey’s to this point.
A £17million signing for Brentford from Bologna in 2022, his first season in London was curtailed by an ankle injury. If he thought he was in for a change of luck, he was wrong.
Aaron Hickey was all smiles as he celebrated turning 24 with the Scotland squad in Charlotte
On October 28, 2023, the defender was withdrawn from a game against Chelsea with a hamstring issue.
When the issue didn’t resolve itself, he underwent surgery. With it persisting, his hopes of playing in Euro 2024 were dashed.
More surgery followed. The pace of the rehab wasn’t so much slow as glacial. The entirety of season 2024-25 came and went without Hickey playing a single minute of football.
His return came as a late substitute against Nottingham Forest on August 17, 2025. In total, he’d spent 659 days on the sidelines.
Little wonder the prospect of playing in a World Cup tastes sweeter than a truckload of sugar.
‘It’s one of the hardest things, being injured as a footballer,’ he reflected. ‘I can’t tell you how hard it is. Obviously, missing out on the tournament at the Euros last time was very difficult.
‘It definitely makes you stronger mentally. Now that I’m sitting here thinking back about how hard it was, it was tough times. But I’m just delighted that it’s in the past now and I’m here at the World Cup.’
Hickey has recently allowed himself to briefly look over his shoulder, though. A trip back to his old family home in Glasgow’s West End felt an important part of the process of preparing for the tournament.
Hickey trains ahead of Scotland’s opener against Haiti, where he will start at right-back
‘Obviously, every young boy from Scotland supports Scotland,’ he said. ‘Actually, when we got the hotel there was a little book of pictures of when we were all young boys.
‘There was a picture of myself as a young boy with my Scotland jersey. So, to be here now, playing for the team at a World Cup, it’s nice.
‘I went back to Manor Road in Jordanhill where the picture was taken just before flying to the World Cup. It was nice to go back to where it all started.’
It continues this weekend in Boston in what will be Scotland’s return to the world stage for the first time in 28 years.
Amid the inevitable anxiety of facing Haiti in what feels more akin to a cup final, the Tartan Army will descend on Massachusetts more optimistic than before the two previous Euros.
Steve Clarke has a string of players on form. This time, the manager has fewer concerns about them having been overloaded by their club.
Hickey’s played 33 games for club and country. He should feel like he’s in the middle of a season, not at the end of one.
Hickey is looking forward to linking up once more with Ben Gannon-Doak down the right flank
‘I think last season at Brentford, it was quite a big thing, managing my minutes,’ he explained.
‘I spoke to the manager (Keith Andrews) a lot. Even in his first season at the club, he was saying that we just need to look at the bigger picture for myself, obviously with being injured in the past.’
Ben Gannon-Doak is another who falls neatly into that category. Another who missed out on Euro 2024, the winger only played eight league games with Bournemouth.
The consequence of the hamstring injury he picked up against Denmark, paradoxically, Clarke is now benefitting from his freshness.
Down the right flank against Bolivia last Saturday, Gannon-Doak and Hickey destroyed the South Americans. This bodes well.
‘It’s exciting for myself, playing with Doaky,’ said Hickey. ‘He’s a good player, young, exciting. We’re still getting used to each other, what we do and how we link up and also defensively. The sessions we’re working on every day in training (help).’
We’ll never know how different Euro 2024 might have been had injury not ruled Doak out. This time, though, Hickey has seen enough to believe he can light up the world.
‘Yeah, I think so,’ he concurred. ‘He adds something different to the team which is exciting for all of us.
‘His pace is frightening. He’s probably one of the fastest players I’ve ever played with. He’s going to be a very important player for us.’
All minds are presently on Haiti yet the prospect of Doak going up against Hickey’s Brentford team-mate Igor Thiago in Florida still quickens the pulse.
Hickey said that Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been managing his minutes at club level
‘We’ve been talking every day about that game in Miami,’ said Hickey. ‘We’re both really looking forward to it.
‘He’s a big boy. He holds it up well. I’ve only played with him for one season, but he’s a good player. Hopefully, I can give a few tips to the centre backs in how to deal with him.’
They’ll take all the free advice they can get. Hickey’s lately been the recipient of some of his own. Playing in the heat and humidity isn’t quite as daunting as a few weeks ago.
‘One of the staff members told us to do sauna at our club,’ he explained. ‘So, we’ve had a programme to try and help us with the heat.
‘It was to try to do 15-20 minutes every two or three days. The first few were a struggle, but then you get used to it.’
Time will tell if he can handle the heat physically. Metaphorically, there isn’t a trace of a concern. Having been posted missing for so long, Hickey looks here to stay. And that is worth celebrating.
