Shane Duffy has left Celtic’s Dubai training camp and returned to the UK for personal, family reasons.
The defender, who is on loan from Brighton, headed back to London last night – but according to Record Sport the suggestions that he was on the verge of cutting short his loan spell are wide of the mark.
Duffy is back on family matters and Celtic are still intent on keeping the centre back for the remainder of the season, despite struggling since the his first two games in Scotland.
The Republic of Ireland captain has failed to nail down a regular role in recent weeks, being preferred by Nir Bitton (a makeshift centre half) at Ibrox. When Duffy was introduced following Bitton’s sending off, he was unconvincing and only caught the eye by swiping down Ryan Kent.
Brighton have made it clear that Duffy will not return to the south coast this season, but it is understood there is some Championship interest in the 29-year-old, particularly from Chris Hughton at Nottingham Forest.
Shane Duffy pictured awaiting a flight from Dubai to London