Injury expert Ben Dinnery has been talking to Football Insider regarding an update on Celtic defender Christopher Jullien.
The Lowdown: Jullien back in training
Jullien, who was labelled as ‘excellent’ by Neil Lennon, is yet to feature in 2021 after suffering a serious injury in the final game of 2020.
The Hoops brought in four centre-backs over the summer, possibly due to Jullien's injury, with Ange Postecoglou still yet to see the French centre-back in action.
He has returned to training at Lennoxtown earlier this month, however, it seems as if the towering defender won’t be ready for competitive action for the next three games.
The Latest: Dinnery reacts to recent update
Postecoglou recently confirmed, as cited by Football Insider, that Jullien won’t be available until after the next international break.
That means he’ll miss games against Livingston, Ferencvaros and Dundee, with the earliest possible chance of a return seemingly against St Johnstone on November 20.
Dinnery was giving his thoughts to Football Insider regarding the update, to which he said:
“It’s always going to be difficult when you’re in the gym and training on a one-to-one basis.
“You’re missing out with the banter and if the team is doing well, you want to be a part of it.
“The initial timeline with his injury was in and around four months, and now we are approaching 10 months.
“The important thing with any long-term injury is to yourself small goals. Rather than looking to the end, it’s all about small motivating factors.
“It will be dispiriting, but it needs to be contextualised. It’s a risk and reward strategy.
“You would rather have an extra month out than risk returning too early and putting yourself out of action for even longer.
“At this moment in time, learning that you’re not going to be ready until late November is massively upsetting.
“But there is another six months left of the season and a lot of football to be played.”
The Verdict: Frustrating, but the right decision
The last thing Celtic would want is to rush Jullien back too quickly, as Dinnery mentions. The Hoops don’t exactly need to, either, with Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers becoming regulars in a solid backline recently - the latter in particular was praised by Celtic legend Kenny Dalglish earlier this season.
Celtic have conceded just twice in their five October fixtures, a record that should keep Postecoglou calm about not bringing back Jullien too soon.
It'll be interesting to see if Jullien will be a regular when he is fully fit, especially as he is the club's sixth most expensive signing of all time, but if Starfelt and Carter-Vickers continue to impress, he could remain on the sidelines despite being ready to play.
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