Celtic Player Closing in on Return After Long Injury Absence
Celtic have had an intriguing season when it comes to their forward group, with the players amongst the front three or four changing multiple times throughout the season.
One of the longest-tenured players for the Hoops is James Forrest, who has been with the senior squad since 2009, and started in the club's youth ranks back in 2002.
Since we last saw Forrest in action, the circumstances surrounding the wingers have changed quite a bit, with Luis Palma leaving and Jota arriving in the winter.
Celtic now has seven total forwards, including the strikers and the wingers, who are Jota, Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn, Hyun-jun Yang, Forrest, Adam Idah, and Johnny Kenny.
Forrest has been out since the middle of December due to a foot injury picked up against the Rangers. Initially, he was expected to miss approximately six weeks. It has now been around nine weeks since that match and we finally received an update from Brendan Rodgers regarding his status in the coming weeks.
Rodgers in his pre-match media appearance on February 7th stated, "He shouldn't be too far away from getting out onto the pitch, so yeah, but he's obviously not good for the weekend."
With that being said prior to the weekend of the Raith Rovers match, odds are we could see Forrest in the near future again, and hopefully have him as an option for games as the schedule ramps up.
Finding a spot for him would be the difficult thing, as Maeda is playing exceptionally well, Jota will be working to get more playing time as a starter, Yang has been getting a decent bit of playing time as well, and Kuhn has arguably been Celtic's player of the season so far.
It feels almost like Celtic could use somewhat of a hockey-style rotation, where three players start and the other three come off the bench later in the game to relieve the first group.
The depth for the Hoops up front is spectacular, and adding another veteran presence who can work with the squad and really set the pace is only going to improve things between now and the end of the campaign.
With Forrest signing a new contract in November through May of 2026, Celtic will definitely be looking to get him involved one way or another, and with some previous experience in the midfield, maybe they can work him in there if the situation calls for it.
Jeremy Trottier started his writing journey with WBLZ Media, and has worked through multiple publications with 247Sports, USA Today, Fansided, SBNation and others. He is an avid fan of motorsports and most sports in general, and has completed a degree in sports management to further understand the sports industry. During his time with sports media, he has been credentialed for coverage of Boston College sports, and can often be found attending their football and basketball games as well as expected coverage of their men’s soccer team in the near future. Sports are a large part of his life and career, as he looks to pursue a full time role within the industry someday.