Filip Benkovic could be the Celtic solution; but it comes with a massive injury risk

The return of Filip Benkovic to Leicester has got Celtic fans talking about a potential move for the injury-prone centre-back.

Cardiff announced earlier this afternoon that the Croatian was being sent back to his parent club. It was then reported that Leicester were looking to immediately send him back out on loan again (The National).

It comes at a time when Celtic are in the market for a new centre-half. Neil Lennon confirmed after Chris Jullien’s knee injury that another defender was a signing the Hoops needed to make this month (Scottish Sun).

We’ve been linked with plenty. Mark McKenzie, Omar Colley, and Ben Davies are just several of them. As of yet, there’s no clear direction as to which route Celtic favour. What’s clear, however, is that any replacement for Jullien needs to be a long-term one.

Benkovic had a rollercoaster spell at Celtic back in 2018/19, but he only played just over half of the games he could’ve done (Transfermarkt). Even so, he left having made a mark on the Celtic support. The former Dinamo Zagreb man shone in the Europa League and in big domestic fixtures. Consistently, however, evaded him due to injury.

Benkovic to Celtic would be ideal so long as injury and sharpness issues don’t exist

That hasn’t been his biggest problem at Cardiff this season. He’s simply been out-of-favour as he’s been mainly rooted to their bench. This came after another unsuccessful spell with Bristol City during the second half of last season. Benkovic has now only played 11 senior matches since leaving Parkhead over a year and a half ago.

Yet whilst his talent isn’t in question, his sharpness is. On December 29th, Benkovic played 70 minutes for Cardiff against Wycombe. That was his first outing since a 1-1 draw against Preston for Bristol back in July. If he arrives on loan, he needs to come in and compete right away.