Celtic’s Maik Nawrocki has been injured again on loan at Hannover.
The defender has been a success story in Germany’s second tier, endearing himself to the fanbase by scoring the winner in their derby against Eintracht Braunschweig.
Nawrocki addressed chances of a Celtic return just this week, indicating that he was happier close to his family in his birth country of Germany… and not missing the Scottish weather.
But his injury record is increasingly becoming a concern; he faced similar rotten luck over his two years in Glasgow.
He’s now enjoying life on loan at Hannover…
Celtic’s Maik Nawrocki withdrawn from Hannover’s win over Darmstadt through injury
Hannover took another vital step in their bid for promotion to the German top flight – where they haven’t been since 2019 – with a 2-0 win at Darmstadt on Saturday, but it came at a cost.
Nawrocki went down early in the second half and was treated on the pitch, but ultimately had to be substituted for Virgil Ghita.
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This is his fourth injury lay-off of the season, halting his progress with the Saxony club which had gained serious momentum during 2026.
In February, Nawrocki suffered a bizarre back “twinge” while getting dressed at home, missing the first half of the month.
Tendonitis and other muscle issues delayed his competitive debut for the club until October, and he sustained another muscle injury in December.
Clearly, this is a player having issues with their body. Hannover hold an option to buy Nawrocki for around £2 million, which would mark a loss for Celtic, who paid £4.3 million to sign him from Legia Warsaw in 2023.
But the repeated trend of injuries, which isn’t new this season, could force Hannover to think twice about making the investment.
Despite the notable fee, Nawrocki was used sparingly by Brendan Rodgers in Glasgow.
The exact reason for this is a bit of a mystery. He is known to have struggled with fitness, but it seemed that the Hoops boss simply had more trust in Liam Scales, Stephen Welsh and Nat Phillips at various points in his debut season.
In total, he made just 12 starts across his two years in Glasgow before moving on loan to Germany.
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Celtic players out on loan
Nawrocki’s fortunes in the German second tier have certainly been better than those of fellow Rodgers outcast Shin Yamada, who seems completely frozen out at relegation-threatened Prussia Munster.
The other of Celtic’s two J League signings from last summer, Hayato Inamura, is back playing regular football at FC Tokyo.
Luis Palma has given mixed messages about staying at Lech Poznan, indicating that he wants to stay one week before pledging loyalty to Celtic the next.
Johnny Kenny now has six goal involvements for Bolton, whilst Stephen Welsh tasted defeat for Motherwell at Tynecastle on Saturday.
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