Fit-again McGinn was 'petrified' he would miss World Cup

Ten years ago on Sunday, John McGinn won the first of his 84 international caps, but two months ago he was "scared" he would miss out on the biggest of them all as Scotland end a 28-year wait to play at another World Cup finals.

The 31-year-old midfielder needed major surgery for the first time in his career after picking up an injury for Aston Villa against Everton.

But he battled back to fitness earlier than scheduled to breathe new life into his club side's chase for Champions League qualification and remains a vital part of Steve Clarke's national side as they prepare for this summer's tournament in the Americas.

McGinn spoke to BBC Scotland before Tuesday's latest warm-up friendly against Ivory Coast in Liverpool.

When he walked off the pitch at Villa Park in mid-January, McGinn feared his World Cup dream was over.

"I was scared," he says. "I remember right away feeling, oh this isn't right. It was 10, 15 minutes into the game, I blocked a pass against Everton and I knew right away, so my hand goes up and obviously I've known experienced players who have done serious knee injuries six months plus feeling able to walk off.

"I was petrified really, but then you get the scan and you wait and thankfully it was good news that it was only a minor knee injury.

"The knee obviously reacts in different ways to surgery, but it could have been a lot, lot worse. It was expected to be six to eight weeks. Managed to come back in six weeks."

McGinn initially thought he might be able to play on without surgery.

"I thought it was an important time for the club, an important time of the season, big games, but then, as the days went on, it started to swell more and there was more fluid in the knee," he recalls.

"So, as much as I like to think I could have braved on, it was clear quite soon that I needed the surgery. As you get older, of course, you need to look after your body. I'm 31 now, so to do anything crazy would be wild."

In his absence, Villa went through a spell of winning once in seven outings, but they have won three out of four since his return, with McGinn scoring in the latest two.

Title hopes are over with Arsenal 16 points ahead, but Villa are still just a point behind third-top Manchester United and five clear of Liverpool in what McGinn thinks is a "huge" season for the Birmingham club.

They also have a Europa League quarter-final against Bologna to look forward to.

"We just missed out on goal difference last season for the Champions League with a bit of a dodgy decision at Old Trafford," he remembers.

"But we were so close and it hurt, so we are using the hurt from last season to drive us on.

"But what we're competing against are massive institutions, powerful clubs who can spend whatever they like.

"We are obviously a massive club in our own right, but for us to continuously compete at that level is huge credit to all of us involved at the club."

McGinn sees parallels between Villa and Scotland, taking "a lot of pride" from helping club and country return to "a position they've not been in for a long time".

It was back on 29 March 2016 when then Scotland boss Gordon Strachan gave McGinn his full international debut in a 1-0 win over Denmark.

"It was a friendly against a team who had qualified, but we had nothing to play for," he recalls. "It does seem like a long time ago, but the way we've evolved as a group of players is huge.

"How far we've come is incredible."

McGinn says the difference between the expectations then and now is night and day.

"There's still so much we've got to improve, we know that," he says. "But we're a small country, fighting against bigger nations. We don't have the same luxuries that they do. But what we do have is grit and determination.

"Was this our best campaign? No, probably not in terms of performances. But we had one objective and that was to finish first in the group, create some history, and we managed to do that."

McGinn thinks having an experienced group in the dressing room is helping both Villa and Scotland, with increased strength in depth.

"We've got not only myself, Robbo [Andy Robertson], [Scott] McTominay, [Ryan] Christie. We've got players playing at a high level in important matches. We've had a lot of club captains and that carries on.

"Same now, Lewis Ferguson, Kenny McLean, myself. Obviously Andy Robertson is vice-captain at Liverpool, Grant Hanley [at previous club Norwich], Liam Cooper was the captain of Leeds.

"We've had a lot of experience in leadership throughout the group. So at times have we probably lacked the sort of special performances of before. But what we have is leadership, character, belief.

"And you can't buy that in the shops."

Now McGinn sees this World Cup as "a chance to amend it" having "not done ourselves justice in the last couple of tournaments".

"I never did envisage even playing for Scotland," he admits. "So 10 years ago, I'll never forget reading my name off that sheet of paper. The feeling, the butterflies, the nerves that ran through my body that day were mental.

"And 10 years down the line, to be preparing for a World Cup, after two major tournaments, it's surreal to even think about it."

The Villa and Scotland midfielder is not the only McGinn making headlines this season.

Older brother Paul has been a rock at the heart of the defence for a Motherwell side sitting fourth in the Scottish Premiership, while eldest brother Stephen is first-team coach working under John McGlynn with another over-performing side, sixth-placed Falkirk.

It has made for the best group chats with his parents and sister he can remember.

"Somebody's usually been beat or someone's gone through a bad spell," he says. "This year's been pretty positive on the whole.

"There's been loads of weekends this season when the three of us have won.

"Stephen's been really good for John McGynn I think. John McGlynn has been obviously brilliant for Stephen. I think they're very different, but they both love football, they see football in the same way.

"Stephen's got his eye on, at one point, being a manager and I think for him it's so fortunate to learn from a great manager.

"And then Paul's had one of the best seasons of his career. He's had a new manager come in and allow him to flourish.

"He's always had that ability, but it's just about having a manager to give him that responsibility and belief. At 35, he's shown no signs of slowing down."