Christopher Jullien’s fitness looks to be on the upwards trajectory as he was spotted leaving with Celtic for Sarajevo.
The centre-back wasn’t able to take part in our friendly contest against St Gallen last Tuesday. Jullien hadn’t trained at all since the end of last season. His session with the Celtic squad last Monday, therefore, was his first professional session of the campaign.
Jullien didn’t make the bench against the Swiss outfit either. Celtic also played a match on Tuesday morning against Sarajevo’s under-21s. The new man also wasn’t involved there.
But today, he’s been snapped by the official Celtic Twitter account at the airport ahead of our trip to Bosnia. Celtic face Sarajevo tomorrow night, and it’s looking as if Jullien could be fit to play a part.
Despite only having that one week of training, Neil Lennon could’ve seen enough from him to convince him that Jullien is ready to go.
Christopher Jullien’s fitness concerns still to be clarified
It’s important to stress that there’s been no confirmation of Jullien’s inclusion though. There’s also been no confirmation that he won’t be involved either. But it’s looking good from a supporters’ perspective that he’ll be rocking up in Bosnia.
If Jullien wasn’t fit, there would’ve been an easy solution for him. A Celtic XI took to Arbroath yesterday in a 1-0 defeat. It would’ve been an easy 90 minutes under his belt. But Lennon clearly feels he has a part to play in Bosnia.
Now, the big question will be whether he takes the place of Jozo Simunovic. It’s difficult to see Kristoffer Ajer being dropped after the incredible campaign he just had. A partnership of Jullien and Simunovic looks unlikely, at least at the current moment.
The easy pointer to his fitness, however, is the fact he was included in our Champions League squad in the first place. If Lennon didn’t feel he was ready, he could’ve been obliged to leave Jullien at home and only play friendly matches.
Celtic face Stade Rennais at home on Saturday at 3pm. Many of the performers tomorrow night surely won’t take part. Again, if Jullien’s fitness was a concern, that’s another good match he could’ve been a part of.
But as it stands, it’s looking good ahead of tomorrow night. With a bit of luck, we’ll see our man in action for the first time against Sarajevo.
You can read our report on one man who may NOT be making the squad for tomorrow here.
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