Neil Lennon confirms Olivier Ntcham close to Celtic return

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Neil Lennon’s press conference pre-Hibs was certainly entertaining, but there was one valuable piece of information regarding Olivier Ntcham’s injury.

The Frenchman has been out with a hamstring knock over the course of January and February. The midfielder hasn’t had a consistent run of games since before the winter break. He hasn’t featured since, with his last appearance being the 1-0 loss to Rangers at Ibrox back in December.

In the meantime, Celtic have managed to race eight points clear at the top of the league, progress to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup, and replace their managerial team.

And his new gaffer Lennon gave some optimistic news at his presser before the weekend. Speaking at it via Celtic TV (9:28), Lennon confirmed Ntcham is closing in on a return.

“No he’s not a while away. Hopefully, we can get him out on the grass on Monday. Then that shouldn’t take him too long to get fit.”

Midfield alternatives are essential

Lennon also discussed how the likes of Ryan Christie and Callum McGregor are also still sidelined for the next couple of weeks at least. Filip Benkovic, meanwhile, will hopefully return in a fortnight.

Interestingly, that could mean all four of these players could be fit for Rangers’ trip to Parkhead on March 31st. That’s looking like the match in which Celtic can lay a final blow to Rangers, and at the very least go 11 points clear with seven games remaining.

But Ntcham’s return in the near future is going to be massive. He made 30 appearances in the first half of the season alone. He also had six goals and one assist to his name too.

The Frenchman has a big future at Celtic Park, but right now the Hoops are desperate for midfield options. The returning Nir Bitton has had to play in high tempo clashes against both Hearts and Hibs over the last week. But despite his impressive performances, he wouldn’t have featured for 90 minutes in both games in an ideal world.

The sooner the Hoops get Ntcham back, the more strength in depth we’ll have available. And whilst no date has yet been confirmed by Lennon, he’s more or less confirmed that Ntcham will be ready in the extremely near future.