Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that he expects Jota to return from injury in time for this weekend’s clash against Livingston.
Ahead of tomorrow night’s penultimate Champions League fixture versus Shakhtar Donetsk, the 57-year-old has been updating the media on his squad’s latest injury briefing.
The Celtic boss announced that he will welcome the return of midfielder David Turnbull to the squad after missing the Hoops last few outings.
Swedish defender Carl Starfelt was also spotted amongst the first-team group earlier today. However, Postecoglou stated that his return wouldn’t come in tomorrow’s game as he continues to get up to speed.
The key man missing from first-team training at Lennoxtown earlier today was Celtic winger Jota, who has missed the last four games through injury.
Ange Postecoglou has been coy on giving any straight updates on the 23-year-old’s recovery from his recent knock. However, supporters were provided with a short injury timeline of when he should be expected back.
Once again, Tuesday’s clash with Shakhtar comes too early for the Portuguese attacker. But the Celtic boss expects to have Jota back in time for Sunday’s Scottish Premiership match against Livingston.
Speaking in a press conference attended by 67 Hail Hail, Ange said: “David Turnbull is alright. Carl (Starfelt) is back in training, which is great. It will be too early tomorrow, but the idea is to get him back in training over the next few days and see how he goes.
“Jota, again, he sort of had his last rehab session today. So, he is expected to start training with us after tomorrow’s game and be available for the weekend.”
A welcomed return for injured stars as Ange Postecoglou’s squad grows closer to full strength.
Although we are still missing a few key players for the coming weeks, Ange Postecoglou will be delighted to welcome the likes of Turnbull and Jota back into contention.
All three players who are edging closer to their return were valuable assets in the double-winning side last campaign and have continued to contribute massively to the Hoops so far this season.
Postecoglou may have built a stronger squad this year. But he has still been missing some huge figures in the Celtic Park dressing room across different periods in the last few months.
So, it will be great to see those players come back and be raring to go for a potentially huge period of fixtures before and after the World Cup.
In other news, Celtic have the chance to take a vast step forward under Ange Postecoglou on Tuesday
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