Jack Hendry’s injury problems appear to be just about over, with Neil Lennon encouraging him to get up to speed.
The Celtic manager hasn’t given the Scotland international a single minute of game-time since being appointed as manager back in February. However, in fairness to both Lennon and Hendry, he’s certainly had his injury troubles between then and now.
Last season he picked up a hamstring setback towards the end of the campaign. He made just 15 appearances in the whole season, before picking up an unfortunate knock during pre-season too.
However, Lennon has namedropped him when running through the fitness of some in his senior squad. And speaking in the Scottish Sun, the Northern Irishman has encouraged Hendry to get up to speed.
“It’s good to have that cover. Obviously Jozo is a big miss. We’ve also got Jack Hendry who is playing tonight in a development game so hopefully he’ll get up to speed quickly as well.”
Hendry came through Albion Rovers test without any issues
It was a routine win for the young Celts against Albion Rovers last night in the development game that Lenny is talking about. Better yet, he was watching the game first-hand, so he would’ve gotten the chance to see Hendry for himself.
There’s no denying we’re currently short on centre-back cover at the moment. With Jozo Simunovic out, only Nir Bitton, who has been out recently himself, is just about available as cover. Celtic also have Hatem Abd Elhamed who can play at centre-back, but his primary position is on the right side.
Not many Celtic fans are too big on Hendry after his early-season struggles last year. He was thrown in at the deep end by Brendan Rodgers for key Champions League qualifiers. He struggled badly against AEK Athens, however, and only played a handful more games after that.
But these comments from Lennon offer Hendry an incentive. They give him hope that wasn’t previously there. A chance to perhaps put himself back into matchday squads for the first time since March.
He’s had a troubling time of it recently with badly-timed injury knocks. However, with a loan move now out of the question after the closures of transfer windows around Europe, Hendry has to start looking forward.
A future loan deal is something Celtic can think about come January. But for now, Lennon is still clearly keeping an eye on the former Dundee star. He may not be as far away from squad selections as we all initially thought.
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