Ange Postecoglou confirmed that Leigh Griffiths would return to Celtic training next week ahead of the two games at Celtic Park next week. The Australian boss said that Griffiths did not travel to the Czech Republic for the game against FK Jablonec tomorrow night but would return to training after a calf injury ruled him out of the defeats to Midtjylland and Hearts.
The decision to give Griffiths a year extension on reduced terms made sense to a lot of supporters but the sideshow that resulted in the player being sent home from the pre-season camp in Wales meant that a portion of fans wanted rid of the 30-year-old striker. The player’s last appearance proves that he has a lot of work to do to repay the supporters that have backed him over the years and to repay the manager for having the faith in him to give him another chance.
Ange Postecoglou to make a call later today on if Joe Hart will feature for Celtic tomorrow night in Europa League qualifier.
James McCarthy is training in Glasgow as looks to get up to speed.
No new injuries. Leigh Griffiths should return to training later this week. pic.twitter.com/7FaVIKIEAI
— Alison Conroy (@AlisonGConroy) August 4, 2021
As it stands, both games could host a full capacity at Paradise as fans look to make an emotional return to Paradise. However, Griffiths last appearance in front of 18,500 in the home defeat to West Ham resulted in boos from sections of the support.
The manager has already challenged Griffiths to prove his worth to the supporters, he has said that this is his last chance but for Griffiths, he will know that he will not play for a bigger team than Celtic. He should be a 24h professional, something both Ronny Deila and Brendan Rodgers tried to get him to do. This is his time to make the change, delete social media and focus on playing games.
The player, who has scored 123 goals for the club, will know that this is his last chance at the club. He has been offered a number of chances in recent times but fitness issues have left him struggling for game time. The sideshow regarding his Instagram amplified concerns about whether Griffiths would take Celtic battle for the league seriously but Ange backed him.
Ange decided to give him yet another shot (in a short space of time) at making a claim to remain at the club but the clock is ticking in that regard. Griffiths has just a few weeks to prove to the manager that he was right to extend his deal and that he is good enough to continue playing for the club. Failing that, he should be sold or used as part of a deal to sign Hibs’ Kevin Nisbet.
