Filip Benkovic’s omission from the squad to face Rangers will have raised a few eyebrows.
Fortunately, however, it looks as though the centre-back is back in training and close to full fitness.
According to the Scotsman, Celtic’s defensive options have been bolstered despite Dedryck Boyata potentially being ruled out for the season. That’s because as well as the return of Jozo Simunovic, Benkovic has apparently returned to training.
It was an odd exclusion at the time with regards to the Rangers game. After all, Benkovic had played and looked positive in the 1-0 win over Dundee over two weeks ago. He also wasn’t called up for Croatia, so, therefore, he stayed at Lennoxtown.
He even took part in a bounce game against Morton a couple of weeks ago too. So the timing of his injury was largely a surprise and inconvenient.
Benkovic has never really been able to recapture his early-season form for Celtic either. He may have racked up 24 appearances for the Hoops, but just four of those have come since the return from the winter break.
Injuries have hampered Benkovic this season
A series of niggling injuries just seem to keep plugging away at Benkovic. Hopefully, for the run-in, his return to training is a sign that he’s over them at long last.
Considering it doesn’t look good for Boyata, we desperately need Benkovic fit. At the moment, only Kristoffer Ajer and Jozo Simunovic are reliable centre-back options. Benkovic provides some good strength in depth.
It will certainly be interesting to see what partnership Neil Lennon goes for. Despite Benkovic proving to be a superior defender, it could be wise to start building a Simunovic-Ajer partnership for next season.
Lennon, however, isn’t even contracted to Parkhead for next year yet. He could, therefore, be excused for only looking at the short-term and throwing Benkovic in over Simunovic.
Wednesday night could be a key indicator as to his plans between now and the end of the campaign. Will Simunovic be given a chance to prove himself? Or will Benko be fit enough to get launched in at St Mirren – the team he made his Celtic debut against?
At the very least, at least the pair of them seem just about fit.
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