Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou shared today that David Turnbull has actually been in training for 10 days and could have even made the recent squad against Dundee United.
It’s already well established that Turnbull has been back in training this week, but it seems the midfielder has been prepping for an imminent Celtic return with his teammates for longer than that.
Ange has actually shown restraint when it comes to including him.
In his press conference today, Postecoglou said [Celtic YouTube]: “Dave Turnbull is available, he has trained the last 10 days. He was fantastic for us in the first half of the year and it was disappointing for him that he got a fairly significant injury that has kept him out for a while.
“But he has worked hard in rehab and I know he is itching to get back out there. He has been training really well over the last seven to 10 days.
“I was probably a bit conservative with him, I could have maybe thrown him in last week, but watching him train he is ready to go and I think he will be important for us. He’s a quality player, he is a goal threat, he is good on set-pieces and I think he adds something to our team.”
Aside from the obvious benefits of Turnbull’s return, the comments should also spark hope for Kyogo Furuhashi’s return to full Celtic training.
We already know he’s on the grass at Lennoxtown going through the last part of his rehab. But Postecoglou was coy again about his return today, merely saying we should see him ‘soon’.
What we do know is that Ange has consistently linked Kyogo’s return to Turnbull, even reminding everyone again today that the midfielder’s status should serve as a signal for when the Japanese forward will be back.
Turnbull was injured seven days prior to Kyogo in December, which means Kyogo’s chances of a training return are excellent over the international break.
After tomorrow, Celtic don’t play again until April 3rd, giving Kyogo plenty of time to get back into the swing of things at Lennoxtown and a potential appearance on the bench at Ibrox.
If Turnbull has been back for 10 days, the forward could even be back in full training from next week.
This is obviously thrilling news. All going well Kyogo should be available for our last seven league games and the Scottish Cup finale. That could make all the difference given his quality and importance to this team.
In other news, Celtic B youngsters forced to face hostile 10,000-strong rival crowd tomorrow.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
