Eboue Kouassi’s injury problems appear to be behind him, according to Celtic manager Neil Lennon.
The Northern Irishman managed to namedrop the Ivorian in the Daily Record today as yet another returning star. It follows the news that Marian Shved, Vakoun Issouf Bayo, and Mikey Johnston had all returned to full training too.
Kouassi has been rehabilitating for some time after a season-ending injury back in October robbed him of the chance to kick-start his Celtic career. It’s been two-and-a-half years since Celtic signed him, and Kouassi has only managed 22 appearances so far.
But speaking in the Record, Lennon dropped Kouassi’s name as one of the returning stars to training.
“Mikey Johnston has come back to training, Marian Shved is back, Vakoun Issouf Bayo, Eboue Kouassi, so we’ve a bit more strength in depth. Whether they feature or not is another thing.”
Eboue Kouassi’s injury problems have pushed him down the pecking order
Kouassi is by no means a first-choice at Celtic. In fact, just one glance at the competition and you wonder just how he makes it back into first-team contention at all.
He’s currently definitely behind Scott Brown, Callum McGregor, Olivier Ntcham, and Nir Bitton. You could also make a case for him being behind new youngster Luca Connell too. Injuries have forced him so far down the list that it’ll be difficult from here on in for Kouassi.
There will come a time this season when Lennon will have to seriously freshen up the squad. With a bit of luck, we’ll have European football to contend with this season. That should leave us making plenty of changes for domestic matches when necessary.
In short, this means that Kouassi will get his chance. And this year he really does need to run with it when he does get it. After all, another poor season in Glasgow and you would struggle to see Celtic keeping the Ivorian. A positive impact in green-and-white is long overdue, and it needs to come in this campaign.
Of course, just being back out in training will be a relief to the player. It’s almost a year since he suffered against Hearts. The most frustrating thing for Kouassi will be that it was just as he was coming into some form.
With a bit of luck, he’ll find his way back to that level after he builds up his fitness. His Celtic career desperately needs it.
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