Arsenal fullback Kieran Tierney admits facing his recent injury troubles has been the "toughest period" of his life.

There was plenty of excitement amongst Arsenal supporters when the highly-rated fullback joined from Celtic last summer.

But injuries have limited the Scot's output to just 11 appearances.

Tierney told SPORTbible of his long road to recovery: "The night at West Ham away was a hard night for me. I knew I had dislocated my shoulder in the first 10, 15 minutes and straight away you know what you've done.

"Then another 10 minutes, I did the same kind of thing. I landed differently. It was a set piece and my arm just went into a position that wasn't comfortable at all and dislocated.

"It was heartbreaking because in my head I knew I needed an operation. Three times in 30 minutes, nobody's shoulder should be going like that.

"So in my head, I was like 'that's me out for another few months'. You know that and you know the devastation straight away. You can see it on my face.

"Being injured at the start of my Arsenal career was hard. Mentally, it was probably the toughest time of my life."

But Tierney says the experience has helped me grow physically and mentally.

He added: "Keeping myself motivated and energised, for me, is quite easy because I've got great people around me. I've got my family, my friends and everybody I need.

"I will go work hard every single day for myself, for the club, for my family.

"The mental side of the game is probably the most important. Everybody loves going out and playing football but to be mentally tough and deal with all these obstacles and people throw at you, it's the hardest part. But when you get to the other side, it's the most rewarding."