It’s been a rough week for us Celtic fans. A derby defeat is never good, but it’s especially painful when you then have two weeks of an international break to stew on it.
Thankfully though, the club delivered some good news this week.
Injured Duo in Contention for Hearts
Last week’s defeat to Rangers came a little too soon for returnees Paulo Bernardo and James Forrest. However, both players should be fit and raring to go in time to face Hearts next weekend.
Bernardo Resumes Full Training
Bernardo, The Portuguese under-21 international captain, has been missing since an ankle injury sidelined him in early February. The midfielder’s foot was in a so-called moon boot for a time, as his injury healed. However, he resumed full training last week, and should be back up to speed in time for the visit of Hearts next Saturday.
Forrest Chasing Goal Record
Another player eager to battle his way back into a starting berth is James Forrest. Forrest has scored in each of the last 16 league campaigns for Celtic. He’ll be hoping to make it 17 before the end of this season. At 33, he’ll also be looking to prove to manager Brendan Rodgers that he still has what it takes to play a part in next season’s first team too.
Nicholas Kuhn’s recent dip in form might just pave the way for Forrest to get some game time between now and the summer.
McGregor Returns as Absence Deeply Felt
Perhaps the most reassuring news to come out of Lennoxtown this week is the imminent return of Callum McGregor.
Celtic’s captain was a massive loss as we slipped to a 3-2 defeat to Rangers in our last home match. His international retirement last summer proved to be a blessing, as it affords him another week of training to get back up to full fitness, as Celtic look to get those 4 wins needed to secure our 55th League Championship title.
Other Celtic Players “Progressing Well
The prognosis around the central defensive pair of Auston Trusty and Liam Scales is less clear cut, for the time being. Both are in full training, and working towards match fitness.
Scales sustained a facial injury during Celtic’s win at St. Mirren 2 weeks ago. The big Irishman isn’t a sure starter, but he is a valuable addition to a squad that looked somewhat threadbare last week.
US international Trusty missed last week’s Glasgow derby after picking up a calf injury in training. He is also nearing full fitness again.
Nawrocki Unlikely to Start Next Weekend
Maik Nawrocki deputized for Trusty last weekend, and gave an assured performance. Truth be told, he was one of the few Celtic players to emerge from that match with credit for a competent performance.
However, conventional wisdom suggests he remains behind both Trusty and Scales in line to play alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers in Celtic’s defence. Whilst he certainly didn’t have a bad game last week, he didn’t really do anything exceptional either.
It still seems unlikely the Polish defender has a long-term future under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic, and will most likely seek to move on in the summer.