It’s been a long hard road to recovery for Celtic’s Christopher Jullien. Following his knee colliding with the post in the final game of 2020 against Dundee United at Celtic Park, Celtic’s £7m centre-half probably envisaged a period of recuperation, what he’d have expected far less was 409 days out of football and an incredible ten months where he wasn’t even able to kick a ball at all.
Speaking to Celtic TV Jullien has been describing the moment, and the ovation, he received from the Celtic Park Crowd as he made his welcome return to action, something he wasn’t expecting and that his family was there to witness.
“I didn’t expect that ovation at all. When you work for 409 days you just go day-by-day and don’t think about the end goal. To get my feet on the pitch made me emotional and I thank everyone for the warm welcome back. That moment was amazing, my family was there and I was not expecting to come on.
“I’ve just been working every day in training and seeing how it goes, but this welcome is something I will never forget it. That injury was something else. The trauma my knee had was really difficult and I then had a nine or 10-month wait before I could even touch a ball again – that’s indescribable. I’m at the end of the tunnel now and I hope I will feel good for the rest of my life.”
How quickly we can all expect Chris Jullien to get back up to speed is anyone’s guess, but it goes to show just how long the player has been out that he’s now surrounded by an almost entirely rebuilt squad, a new manager, and an environment far more positive than the one he left behind as he began his rehab from such a serious knee injury.
Now Jullien is using the chance to reclaim lost trophies as a motivation for returning to the Celtic team on a regular basis, and to work for a manager in Ange Postecoglou that Jullien clearly has great admiration for.
“We had to bounce back as a team and right now we are showing that and we are aiming to win everything,” he said.
“We have one trophy and we want to win it all now. It was a big motivation for me that there was a new manager and players and there was a new adventure for the team.
‘They are all really good players and for me, I need to enter that competition and try and help the team the most I can when called upon.’
“I’m in admiration of the way the new manager is working and what he demands is amazing.
“First and foremost, I want to be healthy but after that, I want to help the team the most I can whenever called upon.”
And called upon Chris Jullien may be. There will be question marks surrounding the player’s ability to claim a shirt in a successful Celtic defence at this time, but at 6ft5, and with a habit of defending his area and attacking the opposition’s, there is scope surely for Jullien to bring a missing dimension to Celtic’s backline – a desire to defend set-pieces and to attack them at the other end. And that’s something Celtic could well benefit from, given the falling into bad defensive habits the side has returned to with the concession of a series of avoidable goals from set plays in our last two league games against Aberdeen and yesterday at home to Dundee.
It has been a long road to recovery for Christopher Jullien and now he’ll need opportunity to knock and fortune to favour him if he’s to become a regular fixture in Celtic’s backline. However, that opportunity may arise sooner rather than later if Ange Postecoglou loses patience at Celtic’s defending of set pieces. It may well be Christopher Jullien’s sacrifice and patience could be rewarded in the coming weeks.
Niall J
💬 “I didn’t expect that ovation at all. When you work for 409 days you just go day-by-day and don’t think about the end goal.”🍀
📺 Exclusive Interview with @Chri6ViF 🔜
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) February 21, 2022
📺 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 🍿@Chri6ViF discusses his return from injury, his recovery and his ambitions for the future on his return to the #CelticFC team. 🍀⤵️ pic.twitter.com/3qCKCIQOdw
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) February 21, 2022
