Karamoko Dembele today dropped the news that he’s undergone surgery as he looks to recover from his ankle injury, with fans now left wondering if he’s played his last game for Celtic.
The youngster took a horror challenge from Bristol City’s Kasey Palmer in a pre-season friendly back in July. It was a shocker and has had him sit on the sidelines ever since. We’ve generally been in the dark about his potential return over the last several months.
However, on his Instagram story today, Karamoko explained that he’s had some problems with his recovery and has had to undergo surgery. The road back to full fitness starts here and we wish him all the very best.
But it’s also worth highlighting that the player’s contract ends in the summer.
Karamoko is into the final year of his Parkhead contract. He can talk to interested parties as soon as January, meaning his future is now up in the air.
A chance for Celtic to tie down Karamoko Dembele for the long-term
Whilst his injury has been a disaster for him and the club, there could be a silver lining to it for us. It could put potentially interested parties off of making a move for him. Especially considering his relative first-team inexperience. Many may want to see how he recovers first and foremost.
That gives Celtic an ideal opportunity to make their move. It’s almost certainly something the club will want to do. In fact, if we were able, we should never have let his contract trickle into its final year in any case.
Of course, there’s the elephant in the room here that’s still to be addressed – does Karamoko actually want to stay? He’s been linked with the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal in recent years [Scottish Sun]. All we can do is hope he stays sensible and looks to break into the Celtic first-team before making a big leap.
It remains to be seen how long Karamoko is out for, but he certainly won’t be rushed back. It surely now won’t only be the Celtic fans worried about his contract situation either. The club must have a serious think about springing into action.
Regardless, it’s fair to say there are plenty of supporters talking about the situation. Here’s a look at some of the reaction:
In other news, John Hartson brilliantly uses Allan McGregor howler to back Celtic’s Joe Hart
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