Jonathan Afolabi makes injury return for Celtic Reserves

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Jonathan Afolabi’s return from injury took place yesterday as Celtic Reserves routed Stenhousemuir 6-0 at Lennoxtown.

The game itself was highlighted more for Leigh Griffiths’ return considering he managed to bag a brace in the contest. Former Rangers kid Liam Burt, meanwhile, went one better with a hat-trick. Young Cameron Harper would round off the scoring in a fine exercise for the youngsters.

However, Afolabi has been missing from reserve and development action since last month. He missed the Republic of Ireland under-21s’ last four matches too. Fortunately, however, he played 45 minutes of the contest and came close to scoring too with an early effort.

It’s real progress for the former Southampton youth star. Afolabi’s development has stalled over the last month after an impressive start to the season with the reserve side.

His main focus will be on getting minutes under his belt wherever he can and continuing to bang in goals under the watchful eyes of Stephen McManus and Tommy McIntyre.

Afolabi can make his mark before next season

When he signed, Neil Lennon said that Afolabi was on the fringes of the first-team (Sky Sports). However, after seemingly having had time to review him, Celtic decided to put him in with the development squad for now.

In any case, it’s clear that the striker isn’t far away from sniffing around the first-team positions. With Odsonne Edouard effectively going solo this season with a lack of reliable back-up behind him, now is the time for Afolabi to show what he’s all about.

An impressive second-half of the campaign with the development side could do him plenty of good. He should definitely have his eyes set on going away with the first-team for pre-season next year.

Of course, he’ll be hoping injuries don’t continue to set him back in the meantime. Against Stenhousemuir, he looked sharp, and is clearly getting gradually eased in after missing a month of action.

It’s great to see him back and ready to make his mark again. With the current striker situation at Parkhead, he has every right to feel his time could arrive in the near future. So Griff’s return may have stolen the headlines, but Afolabi’s recovery is another solid boost.