Paulo Bernardo today declared himself fit to play his part in the title run-in starting with the match against Hearts in the Scottish Premiership at Celtic Park on Saturday afternoon…
The Portuguese midfielder suffered an ankle injury against Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup. Initially both the player himself and his manager Brendan Rodgers thought that the injury was nothing too serious but that changed when the scan results showed it was clearly a longer term lay-off in store.
Paul Bernardo fitness boost
That frustrating lay-off is now over as Paulo Bernardo confirmed at Celtic Park this afternoon that he is fit and available for selection but accepts that at this stage playing 90 minutes might be a big ask.
“Things have been all good. I can play football again, so I’m really excited about the upcoming weeks.”
“I can play football again so I am excited. The injury was bad but I recovered very well and hopefully I can play from now on,” Bernardo said. “It has been a while outside of the pitch so probably not 90 minutes. But I will try my best to do what I can if the manager wants me to play.
“The injury was bad, but I recovered very well, and hopefully, I can play from now on. It was bad when I saw the results of the scan, because I thought it was a short-term injury, and it wasn’t. So, it was a little bit bad, but I had the opportunity to recover well and to work on other things that I couldn’t do during the season.
“It was a good time to recover and to do other things, too.”
Like every other player, Bernardo wants to play in every game but ultimately accepts that the coach will decide.
“Yes, I think every player wants to play all the games and these games are special, and we want to be part of them. But yes, I try to support my teammates from outside and try to give them the support they need. We as a team still have some goals to achieve, and we will try our best to complete them as soon as possible.
“For me personally, I want to have good games before the end of the season and try to do my best every game. Each opportunity that I have, I will try to give it all on the pitch.”
“We know that Hearts will be a difficult test”
On the game at the weekend Paulo said: “We know that Hearts will be a difficult test but we will do our best.”
“I’ll try my best to do the best as I can, if the coach wants me to play or not. It’s always disappointing to lose a game, but I think we have a very good season. We are 13 points ahead of second place. It’s been 30 games in the league, and I think we have lost three.
“We are excited to go again after the international break. We know that Hearts will be a difficult game, but we will do our best and we will learn from the other games what we can improve, and we will try to do it. With the supporters on our side, it’s always easier to play.”
The hacks asked about theRangers game and there was a few questions about Jota and it finishes off with a question on the Champions League.
On playing with Jota he said: “I’m looking forward to playing with everyone. But yes, Jota, it’s nice to have him here with me. I speak a lot with him, so I think we are a good double (pair), too. I spoke with him after he re-signed, but not before. I think he was really excited to be here again.”
Here’s Paulo Bernardo’s media conference with the mainstream media. “We know that Hearts will be a difficult best but we will do our best.”
Paulo Bernardo Media Conference | Bernardo speaks to the media at Celtic Park…
🎙️ Paulo Bernardo spoke to the media at Celtic Park ahead of #CELHEA
📺 Tap below to watch on YouTube ⤵️#CelticFC🍀
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) March 27, 2025
