Celtic defender Carl Starfelt has provided a brief but promising update on teammate Christopher Jullien after his return to full training.
Jullien has been out for 10 months with a knee injury that forced him to require surgery in a damaging blow to his football career. However, the big Frenchman returned to training after the international break as fans await his big first-team return.
Celtic have been plagued with defensive issues in the opening weeks of the season. Granted, things have shored up in more recent matches against the likes of Aberdeen and Motherwell respectively.
And Starfelt has provided a brief update on Jullien’s return as Celtic’s centre-back options get set to bolster.
As quoted by the Daily Record, the Swede said: “I haven’t seen him play too much, but I think he’s a good player.
“He’s a great guy and I’ve trained with him in a couple of sessions. He is looking sharp and we hope to have him back soon.”
Carl Starfelt provides promising update on Christopher Jullien; Celtic set for more defensive options
This is great to hear from a Celtic perspective. One of the key fears over Jullien’s return would’ve been whether he was still going to be sharp enough after his injury to compete for a place.
Okay, so it’s not as if Starfelt is going to say that he isn’t performing well and is struggling to reach his former levels. That will only truly be determined when he returns to first-team football and starts getting regular minutes again.
But at the same time, he doesn’t have to say it. It’s promising to see that Jullien is making a good impression on his teammates considering the length of time he’s had out the game.
Celtic will be hoping the former Toulouse star still has the pace, athleticism, and defensive ability to make an impact here. Clearly, however, Ange Postecoglou and the Celtic players don’t see any concerns over him.
For now it’s just a waiting game. There’s no real telling how long Jullien will be out for as we await his first-team return. It could take several weeks yet for him to build up some sharpness. Alternatively, Postecoglou could just throw him in in the coming weeks to help with his centre-back options.
Whatever route we go down, Jullien is on the right path. That’s all we can ask for as we finally get our 2019 signing back on the training pitch.
In other news, Exclusive: Hungarian expert explains Ferencvaros’ biggest weakness ahead of Celtic trip
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