Celtic are set to receive a massive boost ahead of the festive period of the season as Brendan Rodgers confirmed that Dedryck Boyata and Ryan Christie had resumed light training and they are in line to be back earlier than expected. The two have been the best players in their position in the past two-three months, and the manager would be glad that his stars are set to be back for the big games against the likes of Aberdeen and Rangers later on in the season.
With regards to Boyata’s injury situation, Rodgers said (Daily Record), ”Thankfully Dedrick’s injury was a slight, grade-one hamstring. He’s moving well. He has a good chance for the Aberdeen and Rangers games. He’s a big player for us. When he doesn’t play, we really miss him.”
Having the defender available could have made a difference in the game against the Hibs where the Hoops suffered a 2-0 defeat. Boyata has been the mainstay of the club’s backline for quite some time now and now that he is in the final year of his contract, Rodgers would want to get the most out of him before he leaves at the end of the season.
The club could be in a massive dilemma in January regarding whether to hold on to him until the summer or sell him in the winter window so that they don’t lose him for free. It would be interesting to see what the club is planning to do with their star centre-back, but at the moment they would be glad that he is going to be back earlier than expected.
As for Christie, he has been a major revelation in the last two months. The attacking midfielder’s future was uncertain (The Chronicle) at the beginning of the season, but he grabbed his chances with both hands when injuries brought down certain first-team members. And such has been his form that Rodgers cannot afford to drop him even when everyone is now back fit. On his recovery, the manager said (The Daily Record),”He has been out running on the grass and we will see how he goes for the rest of the week.”
This season’s title race is tighter than usual, and the Hoops haven’t had to do a lot of chasing ever since Brendan Rodgers took over at the club. It was almost as if they were working on an autopilot mode as no team were good enough to challenge them. However, this season, the gap between the other clubs have closed down, and the likes of Hearts, Kilmarnock, and Rangers have all been on the top of the table for some time.
So the club is going to need all its might this season to continue their dominance. Therefore the early returns of Boyata and Christie is a massive boost for the club and the Hoops would be looking to win the next few games to showcase their authority once again in the domestic league.
