Leigh Griffiths has returned to Lennoxtown to work on his fitness ahead of a return to first-team training, as announced by the club on Wednesday evening.
The 28-year-old has been out of action since the start of December after taking a break from football to work on off-the-pitch problems but will now work on a personal training plan, with the intention of rejoining the first-team squad when he is ready.
Celtic have stressed his return will not be rushed so it may still be quite a while until he is ready for selection, but it’s excellent news nonetheless and is a signal that whatever treatment the player has undergone is having a positive effect.
The first striker to scored over 100 goals for the club since John Hartson, Griffiths has been a reliable striking option for the last half decade and when he is able will provide Neil Lennon with a significant squad boost.
Fans of course are delighted and took to Twitter yesterday to share their joy at the news…
Fantastic news. Welcome back wee man ????????????⚽️⚽️⚽️
— Celtic Ghirl (@CelticGhirl74) March 27, 2019
Totally buzzing for your return weeman, hopefully you have been ticking over and are not miles away from match fitness. Can’t wait to see you in the hoops again. All the best Leigh. ????????????
— Derek Crawford (@deeko1978) March 27, 2019
Brilliant news. Can’t wait to see him back on the pitch! We’ve missed him big time ????????
— Murray (@DMMacdonald96) March 27, 2019
Buzzing with this! Welcome back wee man! ????????????????
— Georgina (@Georgina87x) March 27, 2019
Welcome back leigh, amazing news ????????
— Sharron Thomson (@mrsforrest1888) March 27, 2019
Welcome back Leigh!! Just in time to tie that scarf on the goalpost on Sunday? Don’t ever forget that they sang that you’d never play football again.
— Scott Alcroft (@ScottAlcroft) March 27, 2019
Absolutely delighted to see the wee man back. Hopefully he’s on the park soon doing what he does best. Welcome back leigh ????????????
— Ciaran O Caorthanain (@OCaorthannain) March 27, 2019
Brilliant news @Leighgriff09 ????????????????
— Tracy Heaney (@MrsHoops88) March 27, 2019