Celtic manager Neil Lennon has claimed that returning striker Leigh Griffiths must do “extra work” to put his injury woes behind him.
Griff returned to the Celtic squad for the first time in three months last weekend. The 4-0 rout of Livingston was only really missing a Griffiths goal to mark his comeback. He had his chances too as he saw a curler deflected over before failing to convert a beautiful Jeremie Frimpong cross.
But the most important thing was that he was back on the pitch once again. He adds guaranteed goals in addition to what Odsonne Edouard provides as our number one front-man.
Lennon, however, doesn’t seem like he’s going to be giving him an overload of game-time anytime soon. Instead, as he spoke to the Celtic View (Volume 55, Issue 21, Page 4), he stated that the comeback Celt has to work to do on his conditioning.
“He needs to do extra work and stay on top of his conditioning now and he’s working hard at that. He needs to make sure he stays fit now, because the fitter you are the more robust you become and you’re less likely to pick up soft-tissue injuries like the one he had recently with the thigh strain.
“It’s good to have him back, and he adds that little bit of quality to the attacking strength that we already have.
“I’ve spoken to him about this. I didn’t come to Celtic until I was 29 and I feel like I’ve been here all my life. If you look after yourself and keep yourself in good condition, then you can play for a long time.”
Spot on from the gaffer once again
Lennon couldn’t be more accurate in what he’s saying here. How often have we seen new signings or returning stars rushed into action after a time out only to pick up another knock?
It’s also important to remember just how much football Griffiths has missed. It wasn’t just three months of action. Combine it with the five-and-a-half or so he missed last season and it’s not far off a full year.
The temptation is there to just throw him in against Rennes, but he needs to gradually be eased. His time will come when he’s ready to start matches, but Lenny is quite right to make sure he’s fully prepared physically first.
All it takes is a hard challenge up in Dingwall against Ross County on Sunday to see him out for another few months. Sure, the same can be said for any player, but Griff is at a greater risk just now.
It doesn’t mean he isn’t available for action of course. It simply means that he can’t be given too much too soon. Talk of starting him over Edouard in Europe for example would just be irrational given the time he’s missed.
It’s great to see Lennon so aware of the threats that still exist for Griffiths. The former Hibs forward certainly has the right man looking after him.
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