Not many Celtic players have lit up this season, but Julian Araujo has managed to do it during his short period of time in Scotland.
That’s why when Araujo got injured after Celtic’s Scottish Cup win over Rangers at Ibrox, it was a blow to the supporters because they had started to warm to the on-loan Bournemouth star.
As is the case with Celtic this season, no matter what the topic, their communication with the supporters hasn’t been great, and there were mixed noises floating around regarding Araujo’s situation.
Ahead of Celtic’s trip to Dundee on Sunday in the Premiership, Martin O’Neill cleared it all up and informed fans that he expects the right-back to return before the season is out.
“Oh, of course. I do, yeah (expect him to come back before the end of the season),” shared O’Neill “He is doing fine in recovery. “
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Martin O’Neill expects Julian Araujo to make Celtic return
At least this is some positive news for the Celtic fans, and hopefully, they don’t have to watch Reo Hatate play at right-back again.
That was a huge mistake from O’Neill before the March international break, as it will be a relief when Araujo does return, especially with the post-split fixtures around the corner.
The word from O’Neill, as he told his pre-match Celtic press conference, is that Araujo is expected to return from his ‘thigh’ injury in the ‘not-too-distant future.’
“Julian is still recuperating down at Bournemouth,” said O’Neill. “It’s a thigh injury.
“Oh, of course. I do, yeah (expect him to come back before the end of the season). He is doing fine in recovery.
“The physios are keeping in touch with the Bournemouth physios. We expect to see him back in the not-too-distant future.”
Araujo’s stats for Celtic
Alistair Johnston is Celtic’s undisputed right-back, but he has been injured for most of the season, which is why the club brought in Araujo during the winter.
Looking back at the summer and the January transfer window, not many signings have produced the goods, and there have been many sorry stories.
But you could argue that Araujo is one of the very few positives, and there are even some calling for Celtic to sign the Mexico star permanently.
- Premiership games: 10
- Goals: 1
- Accurate passes in the opposition half: 88%
- Clean sheets: 2
- Tackles per game: 1.7
- Balls recovered per game: 3.5
- Clearances per game: 2.6
- Ground duels won: 54%
- Total duels won: 48%
- Team of the week: 1
- Sofascore rating: 7.06
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