Nir Bitton is targeting a return to first-team action after the winter training camp in Dubai, having been missing from action since February of last year.
The Israeli midfielder-stroke-defender had a fairly miserable 2018, suffering a knee injury that required surgery and a long rehabilitation that has resulted in him being something of a forgotten figure at the club.
He’s intent on salvaging his Celtic career though and has challenged himself to force his way into Brendan Rodgers’ plans.
As quoted by the official Celtic website, the 27-year-old said of his injury woes:
Sometimes people don’t understand, sometimes people take the simple things in life for granted.
It was only after getting this injury that I realised I need to appreciate every single minute on the training pitch, every single minute on the pitch, because in one moment you can lose everything, and you can do nothing about it.
From here, I’ll put the injury behind me, and my main focus is to get back to full fitness now, have a good time in Dubai with the team, to get back into shape, get some thorough training sessions in.
After the winter break, I’ll keep pushing, keep training hard, and hopefully’ I’ll get some game time, and hopefully we’ll win some more trophies this season.
The long serving player was reborn last season as a reliable centre-back, winning plaudits from supporters for his composed ball playing abilities in the centre of defence.
At Scottish Premiership level he was more than good enough in the position and gave us an extra edge when playing out from the back.
Whether he returns into contention there or in midfield remains to be seen, but it’ll be good to see him back battling for a first-team place and pushing his teammates with competition.
Rodgers is clearly a fan and having him around for the second half of the season is a real bonus.
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