Celtic manager has lauded Carl Starfelt for working especially hard to make a comeback into matches after suffering a frustrating injury on international duty.
The Swedish defender has been out of action for two months but was thrown into today’s Kilmarnock match in the second half after a knock sustained by Moritz Jenz.
It was his 50th appearance since joining from Rubin Kazan and he marked the occasion with his first ever Celtic goal. His teammates and the Bhoys bench were absolutely delighted for him to get the special moment.
After the match, Ange Postecoglou reinforced that, telling The Scotsman: “He has worked really hard in rehab. He was really frustrated.
“After such a strong season for us last year, he went away on international duty and got injured and missed pretty much all of the pre-season for us.
“He has worked really hard to get himself back to a position where he is available again. Credit to him, he is a really good pro. He comes in every day and works really hard in training and he’s a really strong team-mate.
“I am really pleased for him to get a goal, he has been trying really hard. It was probably the ugliest of the five but probably the most significant.
With Carter-Vickers imperious at the back, Jenz in fine form and Stephen Welsh waiting the wings to double down on his excellent opening day display, Starfelt has to work harder than ever to justify his spot in the team and squad.
Thankfully it sounds as if he is laser-focused on getting back to action regularly. The manager having multiple options in these positions will pay off throughout a long season.
On the scoring front, Starfelt had some big chances in front of goal last season but just never managed to quite stick it away.
As Ange alludes to, today’s effort wasn’t the prettiest but hopefully opening his account will give him to confidence to be a continued threat at set-pieces.
In other news, Heartwarming Greg Taylor moment goes viral after impressive Celtic display.
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