Christopher Jullien's puzzling back problems continue; Celtic send him to Germany for treatment

By John McGinley

October 25, 2020

Celtic boss Neil Lennon has provided an update on the status of Christopher Jullien after his prolonged absence from the first-team, The Daily Record reports.

He hasn’t played for over a month, last appearing in the 5-0 win over Ross County.

We know that the Frenchman has been suffering from a back problem.

However, the club’s medical team still don’t fully know what the issue is, and he has been sent abroad to try and get to the bottom of the mystery.

Lennon explained to The Daily Record: “We’re missing Jullien because I thought he had a stellar season last year. He’s got a back issue that’s been rumbling on for a few weeks. He’s gone back to Germany to get some round the clock treatment.

“Hopefully that will work. He’s had scans and he has been in a lot of discomfort but there isn’t much showing up on the scans.”

We want the big defender back as soon as possible.

As Lennon notes, he was first-choice in the centre-half position last year and having him back would hopefully add a bit more stability to an under-fire defensive line.

That Jullien is now getting round-the-clock treatment is a positive development, though it also concerns they can’t quite pinpoint what is wrong after multiple scans.

Christopher Jullien celebrates at Ibrox / (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

It could be weeks before we see him back in a lineup, with the manager not indicating the timeframe for his return.

With Nir Bitton and Hatem Abd Elhamed also absent, a weakened defence will travel to Pittodrie today for another tough test against Aberdeen.