New Celtic striker Vakoun Issouf Bayo jetted into Scotland yesterday, and said he won’t be fit to play for a while.
Brendan Rodgers explained during the week how it would take some time for Bayo to get up to speed. This now appears to have been confirmed by the player in a short few words with the Scottish Sun.
Bayo is one of three signings that Celtic have revealed this month. Supporters are, however, adamant that the club need to do more business.
And Bayo has come out to confirm that he won’t be ready to participate right away. He also confirmed the reason as to why.
“I am not 100 per cent fit just now because we have just had our winter break in Slovakia.
“So I don’t know if I will be able to play straight away, we shall have to wait and see. But I know every minute of every match I play will help me get closer to where I need to be.
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“And now I am here I am just looking forward to starting my Celtic career.”
A longer break than you’d think
The Slovakian winter break isn’t anything like the three weeks we’re used to now in Scotland. Instead, football goes into a massive nine-week shutdown over the coldest period of the year.
Bayo’s last game with Dunajska Streda came all the way back on December 8th. Streda also certainly haven’t been keeping their players fit in a fancy training camp in Dubai like Celtic.
His next game was scheduled to be February 16th, which would’ve been a longer break than players would normally get at the end of the season. Therefore, it’s no surprise that Bayo is still a bit of time away.
The Ivory Coast front-man fortunately doesn’t have any notable injuries. It looks as though it’s just a simple case of getting him up to match-sharpness.
In the meantime, Timothy Weah and the nearly-fit Odsonne Edouard will be tasked with getting the second half of the campaign kicked off with a bang. Bayo, hopefully, won’t be long behind them.