Ange Postecoglou gives injury update on Celtic midfielder David Turnbull

By Euan Davidson

March 10, 2022

Ange Postecoglou has given an exciting update on the fitness of Celtic midfielder David Turnbull.

Turnbull, or “Bull” as the manager affectionately calls him, came off against Hibernian in the Premier Sports Cup Final. Since then, Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate have shone in central midfield, but the ex-Motherwell man still ranks near the top for goals and assists at Celtic this season.

The Scotland midfielder is expected by Ange to join training with the first-team after Monday. That could put him in contention for Steve Clarke’s squad, who are planning to play two friendlies at the end of this Month.

Ange Postecoglou said [Celtic FC]: “Nah [next week] is too soon for Bull.

“The plan with him is, all going well, probably train with us probably post the Monday game, we’ll see how we go from there.

“He’s almost back training with the team.

“We’re training Saturday, Sunday – I expect everyone to be available from the last game.”

Prior to his injury, David Turnbull played in every game available, quickly establishing himself as a key man for Celtic boss Postecoglou. Even against Real Betis, when the manager put out a second-string side, Turnbull came on and won the game in a 25-minute appearance.

In all competitions thus far, he’s scored 9 goals and 7 assists in 34 games [Transfermarkt]. That’s already comparable to his Celtic Player of the Year campaign in 20-21, when he finished with 10 goals and 8 assists in 39 outings.

Ange Postecoglou knows how big a boost Celtic midfielder David Turnbull can be

As I wrote before, Celtic are about to become more threatening.

Perhaps it’s recency bias, and the excitement over new players, but it feels as if David Turnbull’s first half of the 21-22 campaign went a bit under the radar.

Consistently, after finding his feet in Postecoglou’s system, Turnbull put in excellent performances. While Ange Postecoglou did add to his midfield in January, something he needed to do, he did become accustomed to solid outings from the ex-Motherwell man.

With his prowess from corners and free-kicks, as well as his occasionally outrageous long-range shooting, Turnbull is an asset and make no mistake.

And he’s coming back into the fold at a crucial time. With just 3 league games to go before the split [Celtic FC], including a trip to Ibrox, every goal counts. Turnbull is adept at both scoring them, and setting them up for others.

It might be a week or so yet before he’s in a squad. But this is undoubtedly good news.

Read more: Ange Postecoglou addresses Scott Brown to Celtic reports