Celtic are set to welcome back their injury-prone German stopper, Marvin Compper after a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The German defender was signed by the Scottish giants back in January from RB Leipzig but the defender has had to endure a tough few months at the club.
The 33-year-old has played a handful of games and has spent most of his time on the sidelines, suffering from multiple injuries. He has almost been glued to the rehab bench for six months now and it seems like he is finally ready to put it all behind him by preparing to play in the Austria pre-season games ahead of the Champions League qualifiers.
The defender cost Celtic £1m when signed from RB Leipzig but the player was injured soon afterwards in the winter break camp in Dubai and had to wait a long time to make his debut. It finally came in the month of March when he made his Scottish Cup debut against Morton but it did not go as expected as the player had to be taken off in the 83rd minute of the match.
His fitness concern became a major issue and the player hardly played after that for the Hoops. He will, however, want to start a fresh page this season and want to make sure he gets a good and solid preseason underway to help him prepare for the 2018/19 campaign.
The player is 33 years old and clearly past his prime. Injuries at this age do not recover fast and Celtic will need to make sure they give Compper enough time instead of rushing him back to regular football. Using the friendlies to bring him back to speed may be the best way, going forward.
Moreover, for Celtic, they will require every hand on deck as they might have to deal with a tired squad for their start of the season. Their three primary centre backs Dedryck Boyata, Mikael Lustig and Cristian Gamboa are all part of the national teams participating in the 2018 edition of the FIFA World Cup being currently held in Russia.
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Celtic have an upcoming tie coming up in their UEFA Champions League qualifiers and will need all their defenders up and ready for the two matches. Hence the return of their new signing Compper from injury will definitely be a boost for them, should he manage to remain fit.
