Hatem Abd Elhamed had made the right-back position his own since joining Celtic from Hapoel Be’er Sheva earlier in the summer. But an injury suffered against Lazio has seen the Israel international miss almost two months of action. His comeback appears to be near though as he posted a positive injury update on his Instagram page.
Elhamed’s return will be a huge boost for Neil Lennon’s side. The team has been riddled with injuries all season long and appear thin at a number of positions at the moment. Capable of playing at centre-back as well, Elhamed could provide some much needed rest to Christopher Jullien and Kris Ajer if the situation calls for it.l
He will have a tough time regaining his spot at right-back though as Jeremie Frimpong has emerged as an absolute star since his injury and might very well be Neil Lennon’s first-choice right now. In just 8 Premiership appearances, the 19-year-old has scored 2 goals and provided 2 assists as well, winning the man of the match award on three occasions.
But this is just Frimpong’s first season as a senior player and he was not expected to have this big of a role in Neil Lennon’s plans anytime soon when he was signed from Manchester City. And the manager will be wary of the fact that it might be too soon for the Dutch youngster to be taking the load of playing twice every week. Thus, we could see the two being rotated at right-back as both have proved themselves to be capable of being first-team stars.
