Brendan Rodgers gave Celtic fans a welcome boost by revealing Ryan Christie is already running again after his injury.
It was feared that the Hoops’ star man in recent months would be out for a sustained period after being stretchered off in a leg brace against Salzburg.
Fortunately, gaffer Rodgers told the media Christie is well on his way to recovery.
Rodgers said: “Christie is back running on the field.
“He’s already pushing for a return to action. It’s great news for us.”
The news will come as an extremely welcome pick me up for Celtic fans suffering after Sunday’s defeat to Hibs.
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Christie’s drive and guile from midfield was sorely missed as Celtic offered no resistance in their defeat in the capital.
Rodgers also explained Kieran Tienery’s omission from the Hibs defeat. The defender is nursing a hip problem at the moment.
It is hopeful both Christie and Tierney are back in the starting 11 sooner or later.
Apart from injured players like Scott Brown and Olivier Ntcham returning, this is the first bit of positive injury news Celtic have had in months.
With Christie’s injury not as bad as first feared, they won’t have to cope without him for too long.
With him running again, it shows his eagerness to return to the team and contribute effectively.
No one would have predicted three months ago that Christie would be such a valuable player to Celtic.
But his string of quality performances have endeared himself to the manager and the supporters.
He is one of the first names on the team sheet when fit, and deservedly so.
A very merry Christiemas
The young Scottish internationalist has seven goals already for Celtic this season. None more so important than against his former club Aberdeen in the Betfred Cup final.
With his return to the team hopefully soon, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if Christie finished 2018 in double figures on the scoring charts.
It seemed improbable when he signed from Inverness, but Celtic are now reliant on Christie.
There’s a small fixture at the end of year, I’m sure Rodgers will be praying his new star is fit for.