Celtic defender Josip Juranovic could make his return to Ange Postecoglou’s team as early as next Saturday against St Johnstone.
That’s the word from the manager this weekend as he looks ahead to a number of major returns to the Bhoys first-team.
Long-term absentees James Forrest and Christopher Jullien have also returned to training. However, their inclusion on matchdays is a bit further away.
Postecoglou provided the timelines to reporters ahead of yesterday’s win away to Motherwell, telling The Daily Record: “They are on different trajectories. James is working hard and we’re hopeful he makes significant progress over the next two or three weeks.
“Jullien is back training with the team, which is really important. It’s very challenging when you are doing your rehab by yourself for a long period of time.
“He’s back with the team but he’ll need a good three or four weeks to get back up to speed. His progress will be a lot quicker now he’s with the group and knows everything he needs to do to be able to play.
“Juranovic did his hamstring so didn’t go away. He’s been doing rehab here. It’s the tail end so we’re looking at next weekend for him.”
Having an experienced operator like the Croatian international will provide another boost to a defence that is improving week-to-week at Celtic.
Likewise, the return of Jullien will provide real competition for Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt, which could improve individual performances.
Forrest’s impact over the years speaks for itself. At a time when Liel Abada is dropping off a bit in terms of consistency, having the winger back in contention will be significant for the Celtic attack.
Keep your fingers crossed there are no setbacks for the trio, as they’ll all have a big part to play this season.
In other news, Ferencvaros suffer weekend blow ahead of Celtic Park visit.
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