Celtic manager Neil Lennon has announced that Leigh Griffiths’ return to first-team training should be this Thursday.
Griff has been missing since last month’s 1-0 win at Hamilton, where he was an unused substitute. His last appearance was in the 3-1 win over Hearts at Parkhead back in late August. He’s apparently been missing with an injury, but it’s taken him quite the period to get back into action.
Since then, Celtic have had to seriously rely on the performances of Odsonne Edouard up top. The fact French Eddy hasn’t picked up a knock as of yet has meant that Celtic’s success this season has been substantial. But if he was to be sidelined? Celtic would seriously be weakened.
That’s why it’s imperative we get such a proven goalscorer in Griffiths back into first-team contention once again. And, speaking at his press conference today via Celtic TV, Lenny confirmed his striker hopefully be back in training on Thursday.
“He’s back on the grass now. He’s been doing some physical work with the fitness coaches. We hope he starts training again on Thursday.”
Griff will be returning just at the right time
Of course, just because Griff will be back from injury, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be ready to start games. It could take a few appearances from the bench to help boost his match-sharpness.
But there’s also no denying that Griff is returning at just the right time. As things stand, Celtic could have a total of 16 games between now and the winter break. Edouard simply can’t play in all of them.
Celtic also have Vankoun Issouf Bayo available to feature over the next couple of months. But the difference between him and Griffiths is that the latter is proven. When Bayo comes on, there’s more hope than expectation from the supporters that he’ll make an impact.
With Griffiths on the pitch, Celtic fans have a belief in him. We know he can score against anyone in Scotland, and against the vast majority of teams in the Europa League too. His credentials are undoubted, and having him back will be invaluable to our title-charge.
So this news is a huge boost not just for the Celtic supporters and Griffiths, but for the rest of the first-team squad. He gives us a different dimension up top.
Hopefully, we see Griff back on the pitch sooner rather than later. But at the very least, Lenny has finally updated us on where he’s currently at.
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