Celtic winger James Forrest "not far away" from return

By Euan Davidson

September 15, 2021

Celtic winger James Forrest is approximately 7-10 days from returning to full training, according to Ange Postecoglou.

The forward, who has 95 goals and 96 assists for his boyhood club [Transfermarkt], had been missing in action since the Premier Sports Cup win over Hearts.

Celtic boss Postecoglou is without his full compliment of forwards. Alongside Forrest, Kyogo is out for a month with a knee problem. Meanwhile, Liel Abada will be missing tomorrow night’s game against Real Betis to observe Yom Kippur.

However, Postecoglou sounded optimistic about Forrest’s chances to return to the team in time for a Europa League clash against Bayer Leverkusen this month.

The Celtic boss said [Sun]:

“James [Forrest] is not far away.

“He’s got sort of one final hurdle to get over before being available for selection.

“He is working awfully hard in rehab and in training but hasn’t joined the group yet.

“But we are hoping he will join the group in the next 7-10 days.”

Postecoglou also spoke about injuries to Callum McGregor and Greg Taylor, in a packed pre-match conference. Celtic are in Seville to face Real Betis tomorrow night, with plenty of key players missing.

The sooner Celtic have James Forrest back, the better

By now, there shouldn’t be any doubt about how significant James Forrest is as a contributor.

He’s been picked regularly by every manager he’s been available before. The fact that Forrest is closing in on a century of both goals and assists ought to really put his quality beyond any doubt.

So, naturally, it’s frustrating when he gets injured. In 2014, he missed 27 games through injury, which was thus far his longest spell on the sidelines.

Adaptable, committed and an asset to any Celtic boss, Ange Postecoglou knows he’ll get a lot of joy from a fit James Forrest. This season, he’s already got 2 goals and 3 assists in 7 outings [Transfermarkt].

With Jota and Abada surely willing to learn from him, having Forrest back will be a huge boost. Unfortunately though, we’ll have to wait a few games yet.

In other news: Ange Postecoglou confirms Celtic man Greg Taylor requires surgery