Jack Hendry returns to Celtic action with development squad

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Jack Hendry’s return to action with the development squad took place this afternoon at the Hibs Training Centre.

A shadow squad was sent to Edinburgh today to take on a Hibs youth side. The likes of Hendry, Leo Hjelde, and Karamoko Dembele were all on the pitch.

For some reason, Celtic’s official academy page didn’t report on the game. However, the young Hoops went down 1-0 in a quiet low-key match in Leith. The only goal of the game was scored in the 81st minute as Kosovar Sadiki glanced into the net for Hibs.

It was a rather uneventful affair from Celtic’s perspective. It was a game of relatively few chances, with neither side looking like breaking the deadlock before Hibs managed to.

But for the Bhoys, the return of Hendry was perhaps the most notable aspect of the contest. He managed 45 minutes before coming off at the break.

His only first-team appearance this season came in the Betfred Cup quarter-final clash against Partick Thistle. Even then, he only managed 11 minutes of the contest.

Reserve team football won’t do anything for Hendry

It’s good to see that the former Dundee defender is no longer being held back by an injury knock. At the very least, he’s back playing football of some form and will hopefully be better for it.

But the truth is, playing games against makeshift development sides won’t do him any good. He still needs to have his eyes set on a January move elsewhere.

It will be interesting to see if the reported interest from Portugal or England resurfaces over the course of the winter break (TEAMtalk, Scottish Sun). He’s yet to make a single matchday squad for the Hoops outside of that Partick display.

He can take away from this afternoon the fact that he kept Hibs quiet for 45 minutes. He did his job well enough, keeping Oli Shaw well marshalled, but he must feel like he’s banging his head against a brick wall.

But he’s not the only one either. The likes of Lewis Morgan. Marian Shved, and Eboue Kouassi are other members of the first-team squad who need games considering their age.

Hopefully, they all get what they need over the course of the season. But as for Hendry, he can at least take some solace in the game-time he’s being offered at development level, regardless of the fact it’s unlikely to springboard him into the first team.