David Turnbull had tears for souvenirs as well as a League Cup winners medal, after he limped from the field visibly upset as well as injured, as Celtic defeated Hibs to lift the League Cup at Hampden in December.
On Saturday after a long period of rehab and three months without competitive football, Turnbull returned to the Celtic team as a second half substitute in Celtic’s ruthless dismantling of Ross County – and received a cheer as loud as any that welcomed the goals from the Celtic Park faithful.
One player who would have been tempted to join in the applause was teammate Greg Taylor, as reported in the Daily Record, who as a good friend of Turnbull witnessed the tough journey back to recovery for Turnbull and now believes his pal is ready to contribute to Celtic’s title and Treble aspirations.
“It’s another big boost to have David back. He’s a goal threat from midfield. We’re incredibly strong in there, but that’s what you want because it brings everyone up to a better level.
“Hopefully, David can go on and contribute the way he was at the start of the season. He’s a good friend of mine as well, so I tried to keep his spirits high when he was down and he’s reacted really well and put in the work.
“He deserves everything he gets. We knew each other from the Under-21s briefly, but once you become club team-mates, you get that wee bit closer and he’s a top player and a top friend.
“It’s been a long hard road, but I’m sure having a full Celtic Park to come back to, that’s why you do the work in your rehab. I was really pleased for him as all the lads were. It was a nice game for him to come on.”
Taylor of course had his own spell on the sidelines this season, as have many of his teammates, in a gruelling season coupled with the hefty physical demands the manager makes on his players in training and on match-day.
Now however it seems the Hoops are getting to the stage most, if not all, Celtic’s big players will be available for a league run in that looks like it could come down to results in April, where three Glasgow derbies could decide the destination of not just a title but also a scarcely believable treble in Ange Postecoglou’s first season as manager.
“We’ve not had it easy along the way. A lot of us have had quite long-term injuries and it was good to see David back out there. I think certainly injuries-wise, we’ve almost got the majority of boys back. You want that, you want your strength in depth because everyone is going to be called upon.
“The gaffer’s a big one for the work throughout the week is the reason we perform how we do on the weekend. As long as we can keep the training standards high, that’ll be important until the end of the season.
“Everyone has contributed throughout the season, however many bodies we’ve used. That’ll be the same until the end of the season. Definitely. Some boys might not be called upon in terms of pitch time. But, equally, you can’t discount how important they are when they train the way they do. It keeps the levels high throughout the week.
“It’s definitely down to the manager and his philosophy. We’ve not looked for excuses throughout when anyone has been injured. It’s just another hurdle to jump over and we’re aiming to do that until the end of the season.
“You still see everyone. You’re not out of the picture because you’re injured. You’re still seeing everyone every day and you try to ask how the rehab is going on, etc. Hopefully for them they get back as quickly as they can because no player likes being injured.”
Celtic certainly haven’t had their injury issues to seek this season, however Ange Postecoglou’s clever work in the January transfer window, alongside his long-held belief the team would peak while others tired at the end of the season, is now starting to be evidenced.
Saturday’s win against Ross County saw an in-form team dismantled within half an hour, and the frustration from the opposition was evident, as wild challenges littered the game and eventually saw County reduced to ten men as they struggled to chase Celtic shadows.
With Celtic looking as sharp as they have at any point this season and with long-term absentees such as David Turnbull returning to the fold, it appears Celtic may have a full squad and a side reaching their physical peak just as the season reaches its conclusion.
Niall J
